


The System

by TheShinyLizard



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Misunderstandings, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-14 14:10:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8017063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShinyLizard/pseuds/TheShinyLizard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Then there was The System. It was how Ryan and Ray kept everything running smooth. It was how their streams never collided. It was why they were separate, never Ryan and Ray, always SortaMalicious or BrownMan. The System worked until they got a cat who knocked the camera during one of Ryan's streams and they got caught kissing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. System Failure

**Author's Note:**

> A big thank you to [Sarcastic-Knight](http://sarcastic-knight.tumblr.com/) for beta'ing

It started with a cat. An energetic little Tuxedo Scottish Fold which Ray named Mask. He loved being the center of attention and hanging out with Ryan while he did his streams. He lived in the second guest bedroom, the one that Ryan used for streaming, as the cat grew accustomed to the house.

Mask often lay on the shelf above Ryan’s screen, watching him play. He occasionally let out little purrs and the chat would fill with little cat emotes. Sometimes Ryan would reach up and scratch at Mask’s ears during a loading screen or a brief pause.

The web camera was perched on the same shelf as Mask. It was old and had a wobbly base and if Mask hit it just so, the camera would fall over. Ryan planned to replace it and the new one was going to come in tomorrow with no stability issues.

Mask stretched and her paws tapped the camera, knocking it slightly to the left. The shift wasn't enough to be immediately noticeable and with the speed of the game Ryan couldn't do anything until the game was over. He would have done something immediately if the chat protested loudly enough; they had a keen eye for little changes like that.

Then there was The System. It was how Ryan and Ray kept everything running smooth. It was how their streams never collided. It was why they were separate, never Ryan _and_ Ray, always SortaMalicious or BrownMan.

The System had many factors. It involved a set schedule for Ryan's streams-Tuesday and Thursday night beginning at 8pm. Ray could stream whenever he wanted since that was his job but they had different set ups. Ryan used one room while Ray used another and when they streamed, neither talked to the other. They had a dry erase board for messages, sticking mainly to direct yes or no questions, shaking or nodding their head in response. The System worked- or it did until that day.

Ryan had just finished a match when he noticed Ray leaning against the doorway, smiling at him, their dry erase board in hand. Ryan smiled back at him, eyes flicking to the computer, non-verbally communicating that he was still streaming. Ray nodded and began to scribble on the board. He turned it around.

_I'm going to sleep, good night babe._

Ryan held up a finger, indicating one moment and Ray nodded.

That was part of The System: no speaking, none.

Once the game was over and Ryan had won by a close margin, he stood up without preamble.

“Gotta get another drink, guys, one second,” he said, waving the empty can of Diet Coke absentmindedly.

Mask jumped down from her perch and rubbed up against Ray’s legs.

Ryan came up and pulled Ray into a hug. He buried his face in his hair and grinned. “Good night, babe,” he said.

“Good night and good luck on the rest of your stream,” Ray said. He tilted his head up.

Ryan pulled back.

The kiss was light, just an innocent good night kiss. But Ray lingered for a moment, starting to press against Ryan insistently, hands drifting down Ryan’s ass, an obvious sign of familiarity that only lovers could share. There was a silent promise of more if Ryan followed Ray to bed. Ryan's eyes fluttered at the thought of abandoning the stream and going to bed early but it was Tuesday night.

Ryan stepped away from the embrace but not before pressing a kiss to Ray’s forehead. “Good night,” Ryan whispered, low enough that the microphone wouldn't pick up.

Ray smiled at him and left without a word.

Ryan went to the kitchen and grabbed two cans of Diet Coke. Mask trailed behind him, rubbing against the furniture. He had been in the bedroom for a few days already.

Back at his desk, Ryan couldn't keep the dreamy smile off his face. Things were going well in his life. He had a good job, good friends, and a great relationship. He shook his head and chuckled; it was time to get back in the gaming and entertaining mindset. He had a job to do.

The first thing he noticed was his chat had blown up. Comments were going by in a chaotic rush, too fast for him to catch anything solid. He managed to catch a “RIP”. The thing that caught his attention and stopped him and sent his heart racing were all the comments mentioning “Ray”.

The little window showing the view from Ryan’s camera showed the camera wasn’t pointing at the chair, it was pointing at the door, the now empty doorway. Ryan wasn’t even in frame.

The chat was still going furiously. The mods were doing their best but there was no stopping the sudden mentions of Raywood and shoutouts for Ray.

Ryan scrubbed at his face. His mind was racing. There was no stopping this. Maybe they hadn't seen anything. In his mind, he knew that wasn't the case though. The camera was aimed perfectly at the door and had likely captured every private moment between he and Ray.

With shaking hands, Ryan clicked on the Discord chat and pulled up the gif chat. One of the members, Laurmander, was a prodigious gif maker; if the chat had seen anything, she would have made a gif.

There were three. _Three_ gifs. His heart sped up.

The first gif had a clear view of Ray, and Ryan approaching him before they hugged; it was innocent enough- Ryan could have possibly passed it off as Ray just spending the night or something. The second gif was the incriminating one. That one- there could be no other explanation. It was Ryan ducking his head and pulling Ray into a kiss. The last was probably the worst of them all. They were still kissing but as Ryan watched in growing horror and apprehension, Ray’s hand slowly dipped down and tucked into the back pockets of Ryan’s jeans, squeezing his ass; the entire gesture replayed in agonizing slow motion, the pleasant tingle that action had caused was replaced by a frightful chill.

The mod chat on Discord was lighting up now. Ryan, fearful of what he might see, clicked on the chat.

This chat was slow and each mod was sending him messages, but they were asking about his silence and if he was okay, wondering what was going on and why the camera was still pointed at the door. A few of them asked if they needed to start policing the Raywood comments. Ryan didn't know how to respond to any of it.

Ryan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, counting down the seconds before exhaling and inhaling in an effort to clear his head and stop his rising panic. He schooled his expression to one with a more affable countenance, trying to mimic his grin from before. It felt fake but the show must go on.

Smile in place, Ryan turned the camera back to the chair; he offered up a quick apology to his followers. The chat was already inundated with comments but once they saw him it was bombarded; there was a flurry of messages, faster than before, with the same comments from before. His befuddled mods were quiet, undoubtedly waiting for instruction on how to proceed. But Ryan ignored the messages; he ignored the chat. He had a job to do: entertain and play video games.

“Alright, so who’s ready for some more Move or Die? After a couple a games I’m going to switch to Overwatch,” he said.

New players joined the match and he released the code into the chat. Soon the comments choosing the next game type were pouring in and covering up the Ray comments, burying them in the chat history.

The game went quickly and before anyone could say anything Ryan started up another and new players replaced the ones from before. He cursed his performance; he complimented the other players. He thanked the new subscribers; once the chat slowed down to its normal speed, he even started commenting on people’s messages. Every so often a comment about Ray would pop up but once it was clear that Ryan wasn't going to say anything the chat forgot about the incident.

After a while, he sank into the game. The tension eased from his shoulders and he relaxed against his chair; every so often his mouth would twitch to the side during a demanding a moment. It was like any other stream. He fell into his online persona of entertainer. He lost himself in the stream.

When the night came to a close and he finished the good night story that had become a staple of his streams, Ryan looked back into the mod chat. The messages from before asking if he was okay were buried and gone. The mods were talking amongst themselves. They had decided that since Ryan hadn't responded to any of the Ray questions in the Twitch chat that that was what they would do as well, following his example. They wouldn't delete or police the comments unless they got out of hand. Ryan sighed and wrote a short message to the mods, thanking for working that night and taking care of the chat and he apologized to them for leaving the stream for that moment, he reiterated how much he loved and appreciated them and all their hard work. Lastly, he agreed with their policy about the situation: just stay out of it.

Ryan shut off his computer. He stared at the blank screen; his head slumped forward.

Fuck.

He groaned and rubbed at his eyes. Everyone knew. Everyone fucking knew about Ray and him now. There was no hiding or backtracking from those gifs- it was plain as day. They were screwed, royally fucking screwed. He groaned again.

What was he going to tell Ray? How would he tell Ray?

They had The System. It was supposed to be unbeatable and it had failed, burned to the ground so hard not even pitiful remains were left in its death. The System couldn't save him from the incriminating gifs.

Ryan ran his hand through his hair. He had to explain the situation to Ray at some point. Not right then because Ray was likely already dead asleep and waking him up would force him to stay awake for hours more thanks to his insomnia. It was better to wait until tomorrow. At least then Ryan could think about what he would say and maybe the fans would forget about it. Maybe it wouldn't be too big of a deal.

Ryan turned off the lights around the house and got ready for bed. As soon as he slipped under the covers Ray sidled up to him, his body curving around him, head tucking under Ryan’s chin. Ryan slid his hands up and down Ray’s back, already dreading the impending conversation. He kissed Ray softly on the forehead before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

The following morning, the sun was shining outside the window when Ryan woke up; the light was spilling past the blackout curtains. He squinted in puzzlement, brain slowly coming together as he stared at the light because something about it was off- something just wasn't right. Something, something- like maybe the clock saying it was already 8:15 and he was supposed to have been there at the latest by 7:30.

“Fuck,” he muttered, conscious of the still slumbering Ray next to him. He threw the covers back and rushed through his morning routine, taking a quick shower and grabbing one of Ray’s sugary breakfast bars before running out the door. He managed to leave the house in under 20 minutes.

When he arrived at the office, hair disheveled, Geoff glared at him before nodding at Ryan to take his seat. The others were already hard at work on the latest/newest Let’s Play. Ryan went to his desk and pulled his keys and wallet out of his pockets and set them in a drawer; he patted his pants in search of his phone and his expression fell when he realized in his mad dash to get out of the house that morning that he had left it behind. He gave a heavy sigh before taking his seat. Today was just going to be one of those days.

The next incident was that apparently Ryan’s brain and mouth just weren't working together that day. By the end of the Let’s Play Gavin had started a flub counter and it had reached over a staggering 23 times. The group was laughing uproariously at his continued mistakes but with each error, Ryan curled in further on himself. He focused on trying to win the Tower of Pimps, he was only a few items behind and he was far ahead of everyone. If he could just find those items then the tower was his, and the ugly knot in his stomach would unravel just a bit.

Right before the end, with one item left to go, his character glitched. He was stuck in the floor and no matter how hard he punched at the ground, his avatar wouldn’t budge. His hands clenched around the controller in frustration and he growled at the screen. Gavin hopped by and proclaimed joyously that he suddenly found the last three items needed- winning the game and the Tower of Pimps.

It was fine though. He could handle the game glitching because, well that’s what happened sometimes- and it's happened to everyone anyway.

It was hard to believe that it wasn't Friday the 13th, and their new cat wasn't black so he hadn't crossed paths with a black cat recently, but it was just the day of bad luck- fate had it out for him that day. Team Lads were up to their usual shenanigans, mostly thanks to Gavin, and one stray shot from the golf club and the ball hit Ryan’s full can of Diet Coke; the shot knocked the drink over and it poured onto his keyboard, mouse, and right into his lap, soaking his jeans.

Geoff shook his head when Ryan asked to go home to change (also to secretly grab his phone and perhaps chat with Ray and explain the situation to him). Geoff told him that since he arrived late as dicks then he could just go and grab a pair of merch pants and maybe they’ll have something in his size.

Ryan considered asking one of the guys if he could borrow their phone but stopped himself. It would be hard to explain why he needed to text Ray without giving away their… situation. He had to wait to tell him when he got home later that night.

A few hours into the day, Ryan asked Michael, who was making a run to the kitchen for drinks, to grab him a Diet Coke; he said sure and Ryan went back to his sticky computer.

Minutes passed by and no Diet Coke showed up on his desk. The office door opened and closed several times and still no Diet Coke. Finally, fifteen minutes later, Michael came back with a Coke and a few Red Bulls (probably for Gavin and him). He stopped at Ryan’s desk and gave a heavy sigh. Ryan tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for the silver can of delicious soda to appear.

“There’s no more Diet Coke,” Michael said.

“What?” Ryan asked, brow shooting up, surely he hadn't heard that correctly.

“Look- Rye, I only found Coke and Diet Pepsi, so I grabbed a Coke,” he said, holding out a red can of lying full-bodied soda.

Ryan huffed but took the can. He set it on his desk and stared ruefully at the can, daring it to shed its color and reveal that it was indeed a delicious Diet Coke.

For lunch that day, since he was late that morning, Geoff had him stay behind to finish editing videos so they would have time to get another Let’s Play done after lunch. Well, since Ryan didn't have time to grab anything before he had run out the door, so he had nothing to eat. Thankfully, Jack was kind enough to grab him a hamburger and fries from Whataburger.

By the time Jack got back though, the fries were cold and the bread was wet with grease. Ryan took one sip of the large Diet Coke before cringing at the watered-down taste. He ate part of the hamburger and fries, pointedly ignoring the sight of it, eyes on the screen in front of him. He didn't realize that the burger was dripping a thick mixture of sauce and grease onto his desk. Yet another mess that he had to clean that day.

Once he finished editing the video and went to save it- the power tripped. In a flash, everything he had been working on during lunch was gone.

When it came time for The Patch, Ryan was eager for the day to be over. One of the techs was working his mic and they did the preliminary check of the systems and Ryan took his spot on the set. He spent the beginning warily commenting on today’s topic and began to relax, believing his bad luck had receded.

Halfway through the podcast his mic went out. It went slowly, at first some of his words would go out and his sound would squeak but by the time the tech crew had noticed his mic was malfunctioning they were already nearly finished and Ryan had to raise his voice to make sure the mic could pick him up.

By the time Ryan could leave the office, dark clouds had swallowed the sun and the sky was pouring rain. It was the perfect reflection of his mood.

He had to run through the pouring rain and when he reached his car he was soaked through. It was just turning into a miserable day. The only silver lining he saw was that he was going home and seeing Ray and maybe they could cuddle on the couch and play some games together.

And of course, the day just had to find one more way to make itself worse. There was traffic on the highway home, and not the normal sit-through-this-everyday kind but rather the traffic that comes from people rubbernecking and staring at an accident on the other side of the road. It wasn’t even an interesting accident at that too; it was a simple fender bender, no big damage, nothing, but it had the traffic slowed down in both directions for miles.

So when he finally got home he was ready to order a pizza for Ray and him to share and maybe relax with some video games. Too bad he couldn't text Ray and let him know he was on his way back. But he consoled himself with that knowledge that he would be home soon. He just had a few more miles left.

Once he got off the highway he sped through the streets to the entrance to his neighborhood, ready to go breakneck and reach home all the faster. He pulled up to the stop sign, a blue minivan pulling up right before him on his right. It turned right into the neighborhood and Ryan followed after it. The car ambled along, going 27 in a 35. Ryan’s grip on the steering wheel was deadly as the pressure kept him from flooring past the other driver. The faux leather creaked underneath his white knuckles and it was only the Georgian upbringing that kept him from screaming obscenities at the van.

Ryan sighed when he reached his house, garage door chugging up, and he pulled inside. His shirt was sticking to his skin and he could finally change into something comfortable and dry.

“Ray, you would not believe the day I’ve had,” Ryan said, opening the door. He peeled off his soaked clothes and threw them into the laundry room; he’d get to them later, after he’d seen and kissed Ray.

There was no response. There were a few dishes in the sink, likely from Ray. The TV was off. The spare bedroom Ray used for streaming was empty and his setup was gone; Ryan frowned when he noticed that. He huffed and continued his search.

He checked the other bedroom, the one that the cat was using to grow accustomed to her new home, and it was empty as well, Mask lounging on the haphazardly made bed. Ryan’s phone was next to the computer and he grabbed that before leaving the room. He tried to turn it on but nothing happened. He went to the bedroom, still calling Ray’s name, with each yell it grew more and more into a question as he wondered where Ray was.

He turned his phone on and was suddenly blasted with alerts. The last one he saw had his heart racing- Ray sent him a photo of his computer screen, and there on his discord chat, were the same gifs that Ryan saw the night before.

There was a short text accompanying it. _I can't do this anymore_

Ryan collapsed onto the bed and stared at the text, stunned. There were several other texts on his phone but he couldn't bring himself to even look at them. His world had narrowed down to that one text.

What had happened?

He started typing out a message but deleted it and then wrote another, frowned at that one and deleted it as well. He rubbed his hand over his face.

Ray’s abrupt departure shouldn't have hit him so hard but it was. He didn’t want him to go. Seeing Ray and spending time with him that night had been the one thing keeping Ryan going through the day. It had helped him with everything. And he was gone- vanished into the night.

Ryan sluggishly pulled himself off the bed, maybe he hadn't left completely. He went to the closet and when he opened the door his face fell. Nothing. There was nothing left on Ray’s side. Every shirt was gone. Ryan checked the dresser drawers and it was empty too. Was everything gone?

Ryan changed into a clean pair of boxers, gray sweatpants, and a red cotton shirt.

His first stop was the kitchen. He opened the fridge and his frown deepened; the monsters were missing. The video games that Ray had brought over and just left were gone as well. The laundry was done and nothing of Ray’s was in there. The spare bedroom that he streamed from was emptied out; it looked like it had before Ray had started using it. What really put the nail in the coffin was when Ryan checked the master bath. That morning before he left there had been two toothbrushes in the holder, one blue and one green.

The green one was missing.

“Ray?” Ryan breathed out. His heart clenched in his chest. He swallowed back rising anxieties. “Fuck,” he said, slamming his hands on the bathroom counter.

He took a deep breath and focused on the one thing that had gotten him through this, The System. Ray and he had meant nothing to each other from the start; it was just a way to blow off steam. It was never supposed to mean anything more. But it _had_ meant more. Ray was the highlight of his days. His heart clenched harder. He wasn't going to let this get the better of him. He could do this.

There were leftovers in the fridge from two nights ago and he reheated that. They came out lukewarm but he was too exhausted from the day to attempt to beat them up further, besides with his luck he’d burn down the house.

The house felt empty without Ray there and Ryan found himself scrolling through Netflix searching for something to watch but nothing clicked. He turned on some M*A*S*H and let the antics of the 4077 fill the house, for a show over thirty years old it was still humorous. But partway through the impromptu binge, he laid his arm on the couch and missed sliding his arm over Ray’s shoulder, Ray flashing him a quick grin before looking back to the screen and chuckling at one of Hawkeye’s many quips.

If Ray was streaming then Ryan could go into the guest room and just sit on the chair opposite the computer. It was placed perfectly so that the camera never saw it or him, Ryan could move in the chair and drape his legs over the arm and the camera would never see him. And Ryan could watch Ray play and quietly laugh at his antics. Like he had done hundreds of times before.

He even had a Twitch account and he had never told Ray the name. So he could sneakily comment on the chat without Ray knowing it was him. He's even subscribed. It was funny the first time Ray saw his name. His eyes crossed and he groaned. “Thanks for the sub, NotBrownMan,” he said sarcastically, eyes rolling.

It was a stupid, silly idea. He pulled out his phone and went to Twitch.

Weird- it wasn't showing up in his follow- or on any of the channels when he searched for Ray. Had he deleted his channel? Ray would never do that though; it was how he earned his living.

Ryan logged out and did the search again, this time, Ray popped up. His eyes widened at the sudden realization that he had been banned from Ray’s channel. His hands shook as he dropped the phone onto the coffee table.

 


	2. System Set-Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of their friends with benefits situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just pure smut. Get ready for it because just about the rest of the story is that way

Ray left Achievement Hunter in April 2015. His sudden absence in the office brought everything out of kilter. The Lads were one member short of a full news team. Ryan was used to looking to the right, staring at Ray as he fully engrossed himself into a game of mini golf or sharpening his skills at Call of Duty. 

Their time apart only dragged Ryan’s feelings into the light, like a furious clawing towards the water’s shimmering surface and when it breached, Ryan found himself weak and dizzy. Just a few weeks after his departure, Ryan sought Ray out. 

It wasn't long before Ryan took the leap and kissed Ray, right on the same couch that he was sitting on.

They had fumbled together that first night, hands gripping unsure, mouths seeking every bit of skin they could reach. Ryan found a smooth rhythm and worked him up and down; Ray’s small hand stuttered to a stop as he was overcome with blissful pleasure. Ray’s mouth fell open and his eyes clenched shut as he came in a few short bursts. Ryan took care of himself, with just a few well-practiced jerks he joined Ray in bliss.

They cleaned themselves off with a damp cloth, Ryan letting Ray rest on the couch cushions as he wiped him clean with the warm towel. Ray smirked, stretched out like a spoiled cat, and said, “10 out of 10, would do again.”

Ryan chuckled. “Just wait until next time- it’ll be even better,” he said.

It was. The next time was better. Ryan dragged Ray onto his lap while a shoddy Netflix movie played and unbuttoned his shorts. Ray was perfect against Ryan’s body, lithe and already half hard by the time Ryan managed to ease the pants off his legs. 

Ryan’s hands slid up Ray’s shirt, petting along his soft body before they trailed lower and lower. Ray mewled and even after his hands were wet with Ray’s pleasure, Ryan couldn’t get the sound out of his head. He went to the office the next day with the soft whimper on his mind. 

They learned how to touch each other and where their sensitive spots were, like if Ryan nipped at a spot behind Ray’s ear, it would cause the lad to jerk, dick hardening immediately. Ray found out Ryan loved being scratched, fingernails digging into his back as he jerked Ray off. 

Ray got the courage to go down on Ryan, falling onto his knees one night much to Ryan’s welcome surprise. While it lacked skill it certainly wasn't the worst blowjob Ryan had ever received, although he never told that to Ray; he just helped him along through it, telling him how good he was doing and how he was about to come. 

When Ryan worked a finger inside of Ray the first time, the lad admitted to being uncomfortable at first but once Ryan hit his prostate, Ray’s body arched gracefully off the bed and he was moaning for more. Ryan’s throat tightened as Ray looked at him with pleading eyes, his soft hands running through Ryan’s hair as his lips spilled out plea after plea. Ryan assured Ray he never had to beg and stroked against Ray’s silky walls, mouth dry as Ray keened and dragged his nails along Ryan’s back, leaving a bright red work of art for Ryan to admire in the morning. Ray gave it a 100 out of 10, telling Ryan, in a demanding voice, that he better do that again.

It was a month later that they fucked the first time, Ryan’s fingers sliding inside of Ray with careful ease, having prepared the lad for the past thirty minutes, gently working him loose. When he was finished, Ray was near begging Ryan to fuck him already and get it over with. But Ryan was trying to do it right, Ray wasn't going to feel any pain. It was heavenly to finally slide his cock inside of Ray, his restraint evident in the way Ryan fisted the sheets. He waited until Ray gave him the okay, sliding out and giving a testy rock forward. Ray’s moan only encouraged Ryan and the gent’s hips found a satisfying rhythm, quick but gentle enough for Ray’s first time.

Ray saw stars as he came, the secrets of the universe unraveling inside of his brown eyes when his orgasm came in a tidal wave. It crashed down on him and left him gasping for air, pawing at the man above him for safety and mercy. Ryan might've been toying with the lad’s prostrate, but that didn't matter. 

He pulled out and wrapped a hand around himself, stroking hard and fast to chase his own orgasm. Ryan boxed Ray against the bed, one hand on the side of Ray’s head as he came over Ray’s stomach, eyes clenched shut as he painted the brown skin with pearl streaks. Once coherent enough, Ryan opened his eyes and looked down at Ray, eyeing the soft smile on the man’s lips. Ray blearily stared at him before kissing Ryan’s hand.

“1,001 out of 10, would totally let you fuck me again.”

And they did, again, and again, and again. They did it on the couch, with Ray straddling Ryan. They did it with Ray bent over the arm of the couch, Ryan buried deep inside of him, struggling to not pound into him, letting Ray adjust to him, taking deep breaths. 

They even did it during video games. Ray had died during a game and while waiting to respawn, he pushed the coffee table away and he got down on his knees in front of Ryan. It took Ryan a few seconds to figure out what was going on but once Ray had undone his jeans and pulled his hardening cock out, Ryan nearly abandoned the controller. One sharp look from Ray and Ryan took the controller in hand and forced himself to try and concentrate on the game, to ignore his need to fuck Ray’s eager mouth. 

Ryan got his revenge on Ray the following night, giving him the same enthusiastic attention and forcing Ray to play the game right up until he was practically thrusting into Ryan’s mouth, loud moans warning Ryan he was about to come; then Ryan tore the controller out of his hands and let him fuck his mouth. Ray came hard, mouth slack, staring up at the ceiling.

“Good?” Ryan asked, slipping Ray back inside of his boxers and cargo shorts.

“Fuck me?”

Ryan chuckled.

At this point, Ray was already actively streaming. Ryan would never admit it, and if anyone found out it would be the end of them, but there were nights where Ryan would jerk off to the sound of Ray’s voice as he streamed, thinking about those fingers wrapped around him. Sometimes after the streams, they would send each other a text, asking if the other wanted to come over.

Ray’s texts often included a winky face.

One time Ray sent a text asking  _ if Ryan the fuck guy would come over ;) _ and Ryan replied he’d be there in 15 minutes. 

As soon as Ryan walked in the door, Ray was on him, mouths clashing together. Their hands were frenzied as they stripped each other, shirts were thrown to the wayside without thought or care.

“Fuck- you were all I could think of during the stream,” Ray said as Ryan nipped along his neck, he arched his head back, giving the other more room.

“Really?” Ryan nipped at the spot under Ray’s ear, feeling the lad’s hips jerk forward and a telltale hardness against his thigh. Ray’s back arched, head tipping to the side, giving Ryan even more room. 

“What was I doing? Was I sucking you off while you played?” Ryan purred as he boldly dropped to his knees in front of Ray, his hands deftly worked Ray’s shorts open.

“Oh  _ fuck _ ,” Ray said, moaning. His hips jerked at the touch of Ryan’s fingers curled around him. “Yeah.” He groaned at the touch of Ryan’s mouth. 

“Should I be under your desk next stream?” Ryan asked. He watched Ray as his mind wandered off to filthier places, the viewers would be none the wiser of the mad king sucking along Ray’s length, and he palmed himself through his jeans. Ryan pressed a light kiss to the tip; the touch brought Ray back to reality.

“Less talking, more fucking,” Ray begged. His head banged against the door when Ryan took him all in. He pulled back and soaked a finger in spit before working the slender digit inside of Ray. He wasn't going to do anymore without actual lube.

Ray moaned as Ryan worked him open, his mouth sucking him down, finger sliding inside and massaging wherever Ryan could reach. Ray whimpered when Ryan found a particularly sensitive spot.

“Please tell me you have lube on you,” he said.

Ryan glanced up and slid his mouth off, Ray groaning at the loss of blissful heat.

“Where did I leave it here last- bedroom?” Ryan asked, lips teasingly running over Ray’s ruddy tip.

“Why the fuck didn't you bring any?” Ray snapped, fingers shaky as he grabbed Ryan’s hair and tugged the man away from his aching cock.

Ryan rolled his eyes. He glided his finger against the soft spot and Ray’s hands tugged at soft blonde locks. Ray’s mouth fell open in a silent moan before he relented his grip on Ryan’s hair.

“Fuck- bedroom now,” he said. He grabbed Ryan by the arm and dragged him along.

Inside the bedroom, Ryan shoved Ray onto the bed; he grabbed Ray’s shorts and boxers and tugged them off, thankful that Ray didn't wear shoes inside the apartment. He swallowed Ray down again, intently on bringing Ray to the brink before pulling back with a manic grin. Ray glared down at him.

“Lube?” he asked cheekily.

Ray rolled onto his side and dug around in the nightstand. Ryan took the chance to take off the rest of his clothes. When Ray turned back around, condom and lube in hand, Ryan was prowling forward, smirking down at him. His brow shot up but a wry grin slowly stretched across his face.

There was something about the way that Ray looked at him in that moment that caused Ryan to switch gears. He wanted more with Ray; he wanted to do something that he rarely let others do. 

“What do you say about fucking me tonight?” he asked, taking the condom and lube from Ray. 

“What?”

“You,” Ryan grabbed Ray’s hand, “fuck,” he brought the hand around behind him, “me,” and pressed Ray’s hand against his ass, fingers not quite touching him.

“Are you serious?” Ray asked incredulously; his hand slipped closer, fingers pressing against Ryan’s entrance, not enough to go inside.

Ryan nodded, hiding his own trepidation. “Do you want to?”

“Yeah, how do I?” One of Ray’s fingers circled teasingly around Ryan’s entrance. 

Ryan instructed Ray on how to prepare him, letting him go slow, guiding him, telling him when he should insert another finger. His breath hitched when Ray’s fingers brushed against his prostate. Ray stared up at him in awe, watching, fingers working inside him.

The frenzied passionate speed had slowed to a torturous crawl. Ryan used the same meticulous diligence that he used when he prepared Ray for himself, ensuring that Ray had stretched him adequately before sinking down onto Ray’s length. Ray’s mouth went slack and his head arched back as Ryan went down on him. Ryan kept a steady pace, the full feeling subsiding as he adjusted to Ray’s length inside him. Ray was soon groaning under him, his hands on Ryan’s hips as he bucked into him; he grit his teeth at the slow pace.

Ryan rocked down as Ray went up and brushed against his prostate. It sent a jolt through Ryan and he rocked down again, catching the same movement, the same feeling when Ray brushed against him.

Their hips rocked together, pace picking up erratically as Ryan let himself sink into the pleasure and lose himself. Ray’s movement started to stutter, hips jerking. Ray brought a hand to Ryan, trying to get him off. 

“Oh, fuck,” Ray said, giving one last gasp before spilling inside Ryan.

Ryan slipped off of him and with a few quick precise jerks he was coming over Ray’s stomach. He collapsed to the side, careful not to fall on the smaller lad. Ray tore the condom off and tossed it into the trashcan. Ryan grabbed a washcloth from the nightstand and wiped them down. 

They turned and faced each other. Ray was smiling, a genuine grin, one lacking the flippant wry turn. There was a light sheen of sweat on their bodies. Their breathing slowed and Ryan found himself lost in Ray’s brown eyes.

“… You have blue eyes,” Ray said out of the blue.

Ryan chuckled. “And you have brown, BrownMan.”

Ray frowned. “I really fucking hate you,” he said, shaking his head.

Ryan laughed harder; he pulled Ray close.

He was going to be sore tomorrow; he hadn't done that in a while but it had felt right and it still felt right even now. He would feel it tomorrow when he was sitting at his desk but right then he couldn't care less.

Which reminded him, he still had work in the morning, he had to leave. He shushed the thought and pulled Ray closer and he rested his head against Ray’s. He could afford a few hours of companionable sleep. 

He woke up a few hours later, a little after three in the morning. They had shifted positions. Ryan was lying on his back and Ray’s head was on his chest. Ryan’s hand was along Ray’s ass. One glance at the clock had him groaning and he muttered under his breath about wanting five more minutes but he still had to go across town. He kissed Ray goodnight and goodbye. This wasn't the first time he had to slip out in the dead of night. 

Ray’s fingers curled around him and Ryan groaned as his body responded to the touch, even his sleep addled mind knew what that touch from Ray meant and his body was eager for another round.

“Mhmm. Tonight, come to my place after your stream,” Ryan said. He slipped away before he could change his mind.

“Fine,” Ray said. He put on his glasses and watched Ryan dress, pouting as he covered himself. 

“Tomorrow night- and I’ll fuck you this time.” Ryan kissed him one last time, tongue teasingly sliding in Ray’s mouth as a promise for more.

“I should just stream at your place,” Ray groaned. His head fell back against the pillow and he stared at the ceiling.

“Sure- you can if you want,” Ryan said before he thought about it. Really though, it would work better. They wouldn't have to wait as long for one. Ryan could make sure that Ray actually ate food on those days; he had a nasty habit of ignoring meals altogether and then binge eating chips.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I have the spare bedroom and you can use that for streaming.” Ryan didn't want to sound too excited but the thought of Ray being at his house sent a small thrill through him. 

Ryan finished his work early the next day and Geoff let him leave around 2. It gave Ryan time to head over to Ray’s and pick him. He showed Ray to the spare bedroom and let him do his work. Ryan went to the kitchen and took stock of what he had, he had enough to make a simple chicken stir fry for later. Ryan started up his system and played a few games; it felt awkward to try and watch Ray stream while he was in the house. He cooked up the stir fry and ate, setting a plate inside the fridge for Ray, and put the rest in a container for leftovers.

After a while Ryan grew bored, fingers tapping against the keyboard; his gaze trailed to the guest bedroom door. Maybe he could just peek in for a moment, say hi. 

As soon as he opened the door, Ray’s eyes darted to him. Ryan smiled and whispered, “hi.” Ray’s brows furrowed and Ryan tried again. When he met with a confused look a second time he frowned and held up a finger and left.

Now, how to communicate… He glanced around the house. His eyes settled on a sheet of paper and he grinned. He wrote a quick blurb and hurried back to the room.

_ Hi, can’t wait for you to finish your stream, _ Ryan held up the note and grinned. Ray smirked at him. He shook his head and his attention went back to the game. 

Ryan went back to the living room, eyes on the clock, less than an hour now. His phone chimed. 

_You could always come in and blow me ;)_ Ray texted.

Ryan grabbed his paper and crossed out the old blurb and wrote a new one.

He went back to the room and waited until Ray could hazard a quick glance away from the screen. 

_ Don’t tempt me _ .

When Ray saw it his eyes lit up and with a hand hidden under the table, he waved from his lap. He turned back to the screen. 

Feeling bold, Ryan took a few steps into the room, eyes on the video showing Ray so he could ensure he was never in the shot, and got down on one knee.

Ray’s eyes glanced at him every so often as Ryan approached but there was nothing to do without giving themselves away.

Ryan ran a hand along Ray’s inner thighs; he startled in the chair but his eyes were locked on the screen. Feeling bold, Ryan slid his hand up, nearly touching him. Ray’s thighs shifted, widening slightly, allowing Ryan to slip his hand down and run it along the front, palming the hardening cock. Ray’s hand darted down and pressed Ryan firmer against him; Ray’s stomach tensed at the touch. Ryan pulled the hand back and kissed it. 

He grabbed the paper from his pocket and wrote  _ later _ on it.

Ray glared but nodded.

Ryan left the room. He pulled out his cellphone and flicked to the Twitch app and watched Ray’s stream, smiling at the obvious signs of frustration, signs that he was only beginning to recognize. He sent out a few messages in the chat; some of the mods recognized him and greeted him.

Once Ray finished his streaming, Ryan was waiting outside the room. Ray tore his headphones off and glared. He jumped on Ryan, legs wrapping around Ryan’s waist.

“Bed, now,” Ray commanded, a lustful fire in his eyes. 

They came together quickly, hands wrapped around themselves. They were in too much of a fervid rush to try for anything else. 

“Tomorrow?” Ray asked.

Ryan nodded. “It’s the weekend, you can stay however long you want.”

“Don’t tempt me, we might make a marathon of this.”

That weekend, Ryan spent more time undressed and naked than he could ever remember. They defiled every room in the house. Ray was sitting in the chair right after a stream and Ryan had his mouth on Ray’s dick in seconds. 

By Sunday night, they were both a little sore. Ray had tried to slip his fingers in Ryan again but Ryan, not having that, tied his hands and fucked Ray from behind. 

It was the start of a slippery slope.


	3. System Initiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes things work better when you live together and sometimes a system needs to be put into place.

It started with a toothbrush. Ray was staying the night and had brought over a bag of clothes and a few essentials; but he forgot one thing though, a toothbrush. Without saying anything Ryan tossed him a toothbrush from the two pack he had bought that morning.

He spat in the sink and wiped his mouth off with a towel. 

“Just keep that one here, it’ll be yours,” he said. 

Then there were the various shirts and boxers and a few shorts. The master bedroom in the house had a decent size walk in closet, one designed for two. Ryan was the only one using it and with the amount of clothes that he owned he was using less than half of it.

Once Ray started staying over for the weekends , it made sense to give him a few hangers and some drawer space. Sometimes a few of the clothes didn't make it back in Ray’s bag; maybe it was because they were in the laundry hamper or they had be en kicked under the furniture. They never really kept track of the clothes.

Whenever Ryan did the laundry and would hang his clothes, if he noticed the shirt was smaller or just plain wasn't his (like a certain Team Lads shirt) he would hang it on the other side of the closet, in Ray’s part. A small collection of clothes started to form and one of the drawers was exclusively for Ray’s clothing, errant or otherwise.

After a couple months of coming over to Ryan’s house, which had a more reliable internet connection and a willing cook and a kitchen stocked with real ingredients and not a freezer stuffed with frozen Hot Pockets, there were enough clothes there for Ray that he didn't need to bring a weekend bag over. Part of the closet there was his. If ever there was a shirt at his apartment that he couldn’t find, it would inevitably be at Ryan’s. It only became an issue when all of his comfortable shirts were there.

One time, the washer and dryers went out at Ray’s place and when Ryan picked him up, Ray brought along his laundry. Most of it didn’t make it back to his place. It went inside one of the drawers, because now there were three for him, that Ryan declared were his. 

A pack of Monsters soon made their way in to his fridge right next to the 12 pack of Diet Coke.

One morning, Ryan opened the fridge to grab a Diet Coke before heading out the door when he noticed the new addition. As far as he could remember it wasn't there the night before. He stood there, fridge door wide open, staring at the pack of Monsters, puzzling as to when they were added to the fridge.

“Much as I love your ass- and it is a fine ass, believe you me, move it,” Ray said. He gave a Ryan a half hearted shove, knocking him out of the trance-like state. 

Ryan shook his head. It didn't matter when the drinks made their way into the fridge; they didn't take up much room. 

Ray snagged one of the Monsters and popped it open, chugging the sugary energy drink; he nudged the fridge door closed with a hip. He pulled the can away with a pleased hum and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I’ll see you after work,” Ryan said. He gave Ray a quick peck on the cheek. At least that was his intent.

Before Ryan could pull away, Ray snagged him by the  collar of his  shirt and pulled him into a fervent kiss, tongue sliding inside Ryan’s mouth. His knee  dragged against  Ryan’s crotch, sending a flurry of sparks through his body . A low moan escaped him. 

“Ray,” Ryan whined, “I have to go to work.” He panted as Ray laid kisses along his jaw, his own hands sliding down to grip Ray’s slender hips.

“And you’re always early. Be on time for a change.”

It was getting hard to think as Ray popped the button to Ryan’s jeans open.

The clock on the microwave read a quarter til. Was that enough time? Didn't matter as Ray’s hand wrapped around his length and pulled him out. 

He came with Ray’s lips on him;  the lad’s hands pressed against Ryan’s hips, forcing him against the counter. Ryan’s fingers were white from their death grip as he struggled not to blindly fuck into Ray’s all too willing mouth. 

He arrived to work a few minutes late, wearing a dopey gleeful grin. 

Eventually, Ray’s computer set up for Twitch stayed at Ryan’s place. On one of the rare nights that Ray went back to his place and slept there, claiming that he had to go back some time, he grabbed his phone, wallet, keys and left.

Two days later, Ray texted Ryan, asking him to pick him up; Ryan said sure. He didn't have a recording in the afternoon so he could leave work as soon as they finished the current Let’s Play. That would give Ray plenty of time to tear down his system and pack it away.

Ryan arrived at Ray’s place a couple hours later. He knocked on the door and rocked back on his heels, hands shoved into his pockets as he waited. 

“Ready?” Ryan asked when Ray opened the door.

“Always,” Ray said. He turned around and locked the place.

Ryan glanced around him. He was missing his bags for his system. “What about your computer?” Ryan asked.

“Huh? Oh, I left it at your place last time. I didn't want to bring it on the bus , too dangerous. Those old ladies always want it. Besides, it's easier this way, not lugging that big ass bag.”

None of that mattered. It was all innocent and innocuous things.

Ryan figured it was easier for  Ray to keep some spare shirts at Ryan’s house instead of packing a bag every weekend.

And when he started to stay over on weeknights, well it was easier for him to have his computer set up there instead of going across town to stream and then heading back for a light dinner and a good fuck and then some solid Zs.

There came a moment in the middle of the afternoon one day, when Ray texted Ryan,  _ Do you mind if I leave your house unlocked so I can go and grab a few  _ _ Monsters before the stream? _

Ryan sent him a quick response; Ray’s stream time was due to start soon.  _ Sure but be back quick, my nei _ _ ghborhood is dangerous _

Ray sent him a snarky reply.  _ Yeah, that old lady on the corner is giving me the stink eye, she’ll probably rob us blind  _ _ while I’m gone _

_ Hey, Mrs. Thompson gets protection money, I pay her to not rob the place _

A little while later Ryan got another text .  _ So when you pay Mrs. Thompson, does that include money for free cookies? _

He chuckled and Jack looked over to him but Ryan shook his head. Jack’s brow shot up at the swift dismissal and he leaned close, trying to peer at who Ryan was texting. 

“Jack, your house is on fire,” Gavin cheered.

“What? Gavin!” he yelled, furiously turning his avatar to beat at the flames.

Ryan mentally sent a thank you to Gavin for distracting the other gent. He typed out a quick reply, fingers flying across the virtual keyboard.  _ Damn her. She’ll charge me more for this month now _

Ryan’s phone buzzed. Before he could grab it, Jack had it in hand.

“So who ya texting, Ryan?” Jack asked, dangling the phone from his fingers.

Ryan made a desperate grab for it but Jack yanked it out of the way and Ryan managed to only clutch the air.

“Does Ryan have a girlfriend?” Gavin asked, kicking away from his computer. Michael was right behind him.

“Guys, come on,” Ryan said. 

Jack proudly held the phone up for all to see. Geoff peered closely at it. “Who is ‘Dat Sweet Ass’? And what is she paying you back for?”

Ryan heaved a sigh of relief. He smiled at the little joke. For once, he was thankful that Ray had a weird habit of changing his name on his phone. A few days ago it was Puerto Rican Thunder and if the guys had seen that they would've known immediately  who Ryan was texting.

“That’s confidential and y’all don't have  the proper security clearance,” he said, taking his phone back. 

_ I’ll pay you back, don’t worry ;) _

_ Looking forward to it ;) _

On the way home that night, Ryan drove to the nearest home improvement store, a Home Depot with a tired looking teenager manning the registers. He went down the aisles, searching for the custom keys.

There were dozens of options. He could get one that was all pink and sparkly or a plain as dicks key. They even had one with a skull on it and before he could consider it he grabbed that one for himself; he could never have too many skulls. He dug through them, shifting them aside to look at the ones in the back until he managed to find the perfect one for Ray. It was probably meant for a housewife with a penchant for gardening. From far away the key looked like it was a simple dark red key, up close it was actually stamped with red roses. Keys in hand, Ryan went to the associate and had them copy his home key. He left the store grinning.

When he got home Ray was deep into his game, he wasn't paying much attention to his chat; his brow was furrowed and his mouth was quirked to the side as he concentrated.

Ryan wrote a note on the dry erase board clipped to the door.  _ I’m back, I’m making spaghetti and garlic bread tonight, I’ll put a plate for _ _ you in the fridge, also I’ve got a surprise for you _ . Ray was so engrossed in the game that he didn't even glance at the board when Ryan finished.

Ryan let him be. He dropped the Home Depot bag on the counter in the kitchen. He turned on the TV and cooked dinner, setting a plate in the fridge, covered in aluminum foil. When he finished eating he washed the dishes and then started a game. 

“Oh my fucking god, babe, you’re the best,” Ray said; he stood behind the couch and kissed Ryan on the cheek. He sat on the couch next to him, plate in hand, and wolfed the spaghetti down.

Ryan played and Ray watched, eating the plate of spaghetti.

Once Ray was done Ryan took the plate from him. He moved to get out of the seat but Ryan held up his hand. “I have something for you,” he said.

Ryan came back with the Home Depot bag; he took out his skull key in the kitchen, so Ray couldn't see it. He tossed the bag to Ray.

Ray caught it and frowned, staring at the bag. He glanced at Ryan and then back to the bag as if asking if that really was for him.

Ryan rolled his eyes. “Open it,” he said. He crossed his arms over his chest. His feet bounced on the floor in nervous excitement. He already knew Ray would love the design but having a key to his place, was Ray okay with that? They weren’t in a relationship. 

Carefully, Ray unfolded the bag and peered inside. His mouth twisted into a wry smirk. “A rose key? I didn't even know that they had those,” Ray said. He turned the key around, mesmerized by it.

“I got one for me too, see.” Ryan held up his.

“Really, a skull?”

Ryan grinned at the sardonic comment.

“I’m almost surprised that you don’t have a cow skull here somewhere,” Ray said, shaking his head.

“No, getting Edgar’s skull would take too much work,” Ryan said.

He slipped the new key onto the key ring and put the original house key in the miscellaneous drawer. Ray struggled and cursed but got his key on his ring.

When Ryan left for work the next morning Ray gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek, “I’ll see you after work, babe,” he said. 

Ryan ducked his head and blushed. He waved goodbye from the car.

September was one of the hottest months in Texas and for Labor Day Geoff threw a big pool party and invited the Rooster Teeth crew. It was a potluck party. Everyone was bringing their own plates. Ray had stayed at  his apartment the night before and was catching a ride over with Michael and Lindsay. 

The party was in full swing when Ryan arrived, bringing peach cobbler and a pack of Diet Cokes. Griffin greeted him at the door with a hug. She took the cobbler and  Cokes from him and told him that everyone was in the backyard. There was a margarita machine in the kitchen and a stack of plastic neon colored margarita glasses.

The backyard was packed. Most of the guests had a bright colored glass in hand. Jack and Caiti were in the pool along with Michael, Lindsay, and several others; some of them even had their glasses in hand. Ray was sitti ng on the edge of the pool, feet dangling in the water; he had on a pair of bright green loose swim trunks. Shirts, shorts, and other assorted clothes were piled, draped, and folded over the pool lounge chairs. Ryan ditched his shirt and threw it on top of the mess. He left his sandals at the base of the chair with the others surrounding it.

There was a chorus of cheers when people noticed him. Michael banged his pink margarita glass against Ryan’s can of Diet Coke. 

Michael rolled his eyes. “Get in the mood here man, at least put that in a glass.”

“I’ll get him a glass,” Meg said. She was wearing a skimpy yellow polka dot bikini. She handed him her glass and told him to drink.

Ryan stared at the drink for a moment. He sniffed it. It smelled sweet and a little like chlorine but that was the pool. He put his head back and poured the drink back, taking it like a shot. He hardly tasted it as it went down.

“Ryan Haywood, starting to become an alcoholic?” Michael teased as he sipped his own margarita.

“Well, that  might be one way to put it. I’d say that I was gi ven a drink and I drank it.”

“So if I just gave you a drink with alcohol?”

“No.” Ryan pointed a finger at him, stopping any ideas before they could form.

It was true: he had drank alcohol before. He just didn't like the taste. Some drinks were just too sweet. Drinks mixed with Diet Coke just messed with the taste and deceived him. Other drinks like beer were too bitter and wine made him gag. He had learned a trick back in college t hough. If someone gave him a drink he would just shoot it back. He just only accepted drinks from people he trusted- like Meg.

Speaking of the devil, she came back to the pool with a devious smirk, carrying two margaritas.

“Sorry, Ryan, filled your margarita glass with margarita. Guess you’ll have to drink it,” she said. She handed him the neon green glass.

Ryan rolled his eyes. He shot that margarita back too, barely tasting it as it went down.

“Jesus Christ! Slow down on your drinking, Ryan,” Geoff said, smirking, “never thought I’d have to tell you that.”

“But I’m-”

“It’s okay, Geoff, we’ll watch him,” Meg said. She shot him an innocent look, batting her eyelashes at him coyly.

Ryan huffed indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Geoff, when can I have my DS?” Ray whined, he looked pitifully up at Geoff, his lower lip trembled. 

Geoff snorted and didn't answer the question. He set his drink down on the side and dropped into the pool next to Jack and Caiti. Griffin, followed by Burnie and Ashley, c ame out of the house and joined them.

Gavin, in all his infamy, brought up a question for Burnie, proposing a classic “Burnie, what if…” and everyone groaned.

It started up a conversation about what was worse, Gavin’s questions or the Texas heat. Some people said the questions because at least you can escape the heat, can't escape the questions. They chatted and swam, relaxing on the hot day in the cool pool. Jack stepped out every so often to cover himself with sunscreen, reminding everyone with pale skin  that they better cover up or they would get burned. Michael and a few others grumbled but they followed his advice. Gavin teased his fellow lad about his pale skin and Michael dunked Gavin’s head under the water. Geoff started cooking up the marinated fajita strips. Eventually, Ray figured out that his DS was just buried under the pile of clothes on the lounge chair.

The day grew long and they chilled. The margarita machine churned out the drinks and Ryan kept with his Diet Cokes. 

When the food was ready, everyone pulled themselves out of the pool. 

Ryan laid his hands on the ledge and heaved himself up and out of the water. He ran his fingers through his wet hair, combing it back and off his face. When he opened his eyes, Ray was standing in front of him. His cheeks were red and flushed and his hands trembled as he held his DS. 

A towel hit him in the face. “Dry yourself off, idiot,” Geoff said.

“Aww, but Geoff I thought you liked it when I was shirtless,” Ryan said teasingly. He stuck his tongue out at him. He bent over and ran the towel down his legs.

“No, you must be confusing me with Ray,” Geoff said.

Ryan paused at the casual comment, hands jerking to a stop. He peeked behind him, Ray’s eyes were looking above his DS and right at Ryan’s ass. He smirked. He slowed his movements to a sensual crawl as he dragged the towel over his body, giving Ray a small show. His touch was firm and he closed his eyes , ripping off every move from a  cheesy porn video .

The suggestive show could only last so long. Ryan draped the towel around his neck when he finished, leaving his shirt on the back of the pool chair.

When he turned around Ray had abandoned all pretense of paying attention to his DS. He was staring right at Ryan. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were dark. 

Ryan stepped close. “Like what you see?”

Ray’s breath hitched. “That was evil.”

“Come home with me tonight?” Ryan asked. He stepped back, glancing around; their friends surrounded them but who knows what they saw or thought that they saw.

“Fuck yes,” Ray said.

Jack and Caiti were the first to bow out. They said their farewells to the hosts and left. Others started leaving soon after. They still had work the next day. Ryan waited until a few others were saying their goodbyes too before he signaled Ray that they were leaving. Geoff and Griffon thanked him for the delicious cobbler.

“Yo, Ray, where ya going?” Michael asked. He got up from the couch.

“Ryan is taking me home,” he said, jabbing his thumb in Ryan’s direction.

“Oh… Cool.” Michael shrugged. “I’ll see you later, Brownman.” Ray waved to  Michael before  following  Ryan to  his car, settling  in the  passenger seat .

At first, it was innocent touches, Ray’s hand ghosting over Ryan’s thigh in a teasing caress. When Ryan glanced over to him, brow arched dubiously, Ray gave him a coy smile but he didn't remove the hand. Ryan turned back to the road, thinking it was over. Ray's hand pressed firmer and started massaging along his thigh, moving upwards. Ryan grunted, his legs unconsciously spreading.

Ryan pulled to a stop at a light. Before he could grab Ray’s hand and stop him, Ray palmed at his hardening cock through his jeans. Ryan closed his eyes and groaned, fingers tight on the steering wheel. Ray popped the button open and tugged the zipper down. Ryan’s eyes shot open and he turned to Ray, finding those dark eyes locked on his. Ray’s hand dipped inside, fingers ghosting over him.

“Ray-” he whined, tipping his head back against the headrest.

“The light is green,” Ray said, grinning wryly. 

Ryan groaned and forced himself to pay attention to the road. Ray’s hand ghosted over him, stroking him, but never truly touching him. 

“Fuck me when we get back?” Ray asked, fingers dragging along the seam of his boxers. 

“Anything you want,” Ryan promised. He grit his teeth as Ray finally touched him. 

As soon as they got home Ryan grabbed Ray and pulled him into the house, fingers divesting him of his clothing in a mad fevered haste. Ryan grabbed the lube tucked under the couch cushions and one of  the condoms. He spread a blanket on the floor and fucked Ray hard on top of it.

They fucked. They texted. And they lived together.

It was perhaps one of the best and easiest “relationships” Ryan had ever been in. It was great, a real solid friends-with-benefits situation that was actually working. 

It just had one downfall: the texting. The guys at work were, curious to say the least and intrusive at their worst. They had noticed that Ryan’s phone was more active than usual. So during Let’s Plays when the room was quiet and Ryan’s phone vibrated, someone inevitably called it out and sometimes would shout out the name of Ryan’s mysterious texter, they quickly caught on to the fact that the name changed just about every week or so.

“Hey guys, Ryan just got a text from his girlfriend. What’s her name this week?” Jack asked, leaning over to peer at the screen of his phone. Ryan grabbed his phone from his desk and rolled away; the cord connecting his headset to the computer kept him in place.

A tattooed hand came down and yanked the phone out of his lap. “Alright, this week she is Your Moon and Stars, going Game of Thrones there buddy? And she said, Haywood you… Oh my god, really, Ryan?” Geoff dropped the cell phone and jumped out of reach of the golf club Ryan was holding.

Ryan quickly snatched the abandoned phone off the floor; he shoved it into a pocket and turned to the game, putting his headset back on.

Once the session of Go was finished and most of the people had cleared out of the room, Ryan pulled out his cell phone and checked the message. He had heard the beginning and he was dreading the ending. 

_ Haywood you blow me? _

Ryan rolled his eyes at the text from Your Moon and Stars, aka Ray.

_ I really fucking hate you _

It wasn't long before his phone chimed with a reply.

_ Fine. Just give me your milk. And by milk I totally mean cum ;P _

_ I am never talking with you again. Ever _

_ I totally believe that. Which is why I am sending you this picture _

His phone chimed again with the aforementioned picture. It had Ryan’s eyes widening. It was a picture, aimed down his chest, black shirt rucked up, khaki shorts unbuttoned and shoved down his thighs, and blue striped boxers tented. One of Ray’s hands was tucked inside his boxers. Ryan swallowed; his mouth was suddenly dry. The pictu re was not explicit but it was incredibly arousing. His nostrils flared as he fought the urge to take himself in hand.

His phone chimed again, breaking his attention. 

_ Get home soon ;) _

The others trickled in. Gavin peered over his shoulder. “So who is this new bird in your life, Ry?”

Ryan snorted. “I don’t have a girlfriend, guys.” He tucked the phone in his pocket, wary of the others trying to sneak it from him.

Geoff rolled his eyes. “Sure as dicks don’t act like it, dude.” He sat in his chair, chest to the back piece. “Bring her to the cookout on Saturday.”

“There's no girlfriend for me to bring. There’s no one.”

“Fine,” Geoff said, huffing. “Lads, have you two heard from Ray yet, is he going to venture out of his hermit cave and fucking join us for once?”

“Still, don't know. Even tried the usual guarantee- free food. Says he might have plans,  _ might _ .” Michael said the last word like it offended him.

“Just pick him up at his place on Saturday,” Geoff said, waving it off.

“Do you want me to pick him up?” Ryan asked, speaking up before he had even realized he had.

“What?” Michael and Geoff looked at him.

He immediately regretted offering. “I- nevermind. It was just a thought.”

That’s right. Ray and him. There was nothing going on there. They weren't together. He could only imagine how everyone would react if they found out that Ray and he were fucking on the side and that Ray was staying at his house more often than not- he even had a key for god’s sake. It was an emergency key though; someone had to hav e a key for an emergency.

Ray meant nothing to him. They were just friends. Really good friends, but simply friends. Friends who fucked on the side. That’s all there was to it. 

He needed to put something in place to keep it from getting out of hand. The guys at work were getting suspicious and it wouldn't do to say that he was texting Ray because those messages could be explicit at times. He needed to be able to separate Ray from everything else, keep him in a little box, and compartmentalize the situation . He needed a system in place.  _ The  _ System. A way to keep a handle on what they were doing- they were fuck buddies and they meant nothing to each other. 

Ryan took a deep breath before entering his house. Ray was sitting on the couch, playing Call of Duty m ultiplayer.

“Get your ass over here and play,” he said, eyes glued to the screen as he took another player down, “then I’ll suck you off.” He shot Ryan a wicked grin before turning back to the game. 

Ryan sat on the couch next to Ray, the mental discussion in the car and the mention of a blowjob had thrown him through a loop. Ray tossed him the controller and it was then that Ryan noticed Ray was playing on his account, BM Vagabond. Ryan fumbled for the controller, finally catching it before he dropped it  to the floor.

“Don’t forget to play,” Ray said teasingly. He crouched on the floor between Ryan’s legs, hands on his knees, spreading them apart.

Ryan’s eyes dropped down to the tempting sight.

“If you want it- kill for it. The better you do, the better this will be.” Ray swept a hand along the inside of Ryan’s thighs until he reached the apex of his legs and pressed firmly, cupping the hardening length.

Ryan didn't need to be told twice. He looked up at the screen, taking his time for the first kill. Once he shot one player and killed them, Ray started working his jeans down and Ryan had to sit up so that Ray could pull them down his thighs.

Ray wasn't lying when he said the better Ryan did the better it would be. The more kills that Ryan scored; the harder Ray worked on him, using his hands and mouth to ply long drawn out moans from him. He pulled a bottle of lube from under the couch and slicked his fingers, ordering Ryan to scoot forward partway through the match. Completely at Ray’s mercy, Ryan slid forw ard. Ryan could barely concentrate on the match after that. His focus was on Ray’s fingers inside of him and his mouth sucking him. 

“Don't get in the next match,” Ray commanded. Ryan let out a relieved sigh. He let the controller fall from his hands and slid them into Ray's hair, gently tugging at the strands.

“Oh, fuck,” he said, moaning. “I'm about to-”

Ray slid off Ryan’s aching cock, leaving the man to huff a sigh of frustration. The lad fixed Ryan with a cocky look and a devious curl of a smile. “I know,” he whispered and hot lips slid tightly back around Ryan.

Ray doubled his efforts and with a curl of his fingers, Ryan was coming down his throat. His head bobbed as he swallowed. 

The game continued to play in the background; the music was on a continuous loop. Both of them were panting heavily, staring at each other, brown eyes locked on blue.

Ryan vaguely remembered having a purpose  to coming home , something he was supposed to tell Ray. But his brain was rebooting and couldn't recall anything, not af ter it was just sucked out of his dick.

Around dinner time, after they had gone to the bedroom and Ray had fucked Ryan into the mattress, he finally remembered what he was supposed to discuss with Ray. 

“Ray,” Ryan said.

“Hmm?” Came the reply from the living room, he was playing Call of Duty multiplayer.

“I wanted to talk about something with you, after the match though,” Ryan said. He stood behind Ray and watched him play.

Ray won handily, wiping the floor with the other team. Ryan shouted cheeky comments as Ray played, warning him to watch out for dogs. Ray exited matchmaking and set the controller on the table. Ryan took a seat on the couch next to Ray. 

“So- what's up babe?” He said. 

Ryan looked Ray straight in the eyes as he spoke, “I think we need a system.”

“A system?” Ray asked; his mouth quirked skeptically to the side, eyes narrowing.

“Yeah, a system.  _ The  _ System. We already do it for your streams, like how we only use dry erase boards to communicate.”

“Alright.” Ray nodded, following along, “what e lse?”

“Well,” Ryan began to list off the various ideas and thoughts he’s had. Like how Ray would never be Ray in his phone, but always a nickname, one that only Ryan would get. Then there was the Ray staying over all the time and he should keep his place, if only for the sake of appearances . It was little things that would keep what they had under wraps. 

“So, what is this then?” Ray asked, waving a hand to the two of them.

“This? Nothing. What we have is nothing. If anyone asks we’re just really good friends.”

“Alright, so you mean absolutely nothing to me then too,” Ray said and he rolled his eyes. “ Can I get back to the game or is there something else ?” His tone was rougher than before. Ryan nodded and Ray went back to the game. He racked up the kill streaks, playing with a furiousness that Ryan had rarely seen.

The air was stifling and awkward between them. For some reason, Ryan’s heart clenched when Ray said he meant nothing to him. But this was for the best. They had nothing going on. They weren't doing this for any other reason than to feel good.


	4. System Breakdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Holidays put the System through the loops.

This wasn't a relationship. No matter what the other guys said. There was no relationship. Ryan’s heart didn't flutter when he saw a text from Ray and he definitely didn't look forward to finding out what Ray’s name was on his phone for that week. He certainly didn't have a dopey grin on his face when he came home from work, weary and exhausted but reinvigorated when he saw Ray on the couch, can of Diet Coke on the table in front of him and a plate of pizza. His heart didn't hammer in his chest when he saw Ray with the group when they all hung out together, his nerves choking him as he worried the others might notice they acted differently. At least no one said anything when Ryan always volunteered to take Ray home.

In November, Ryan’s parents came down for Thanksgiving, eager to see their son again as well as the house he had told them about over the phone.

The week before was spent on prep work, setting the house up for the guests flying in. That involved mostly removing any presence of Ray, or suggestion that someone else was regularly at the house. Or his mother would have a hay day, bombarding him with questions about them. So he took all of Ray’s clothes in the master closet and moving them to the closet in the guest bedroom that Ray streamed in. He then methodically went through the house and grabbed anything that suggested someone else basically stayed there. 

Ryan gave his parent’s the master bedroom and he refused for them to sleep anywhere else. They had dealt with his pesterings when he was younger, they deserved at least this luxury. His sister and her husband came along, filling the second bedroom bedroom. Ryan slept in the room that Ray streamed in.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Ryan got a text from Ray. Apparently, there was a family emergency and his mom had to fly out of the country, so they wouldn't be spending the holidays together like they did every year. The thought of inviting him over to join them for Thanksgiving kept creeping into Ryan’s mind, and he flip flopped over the idea. Thanksgiving morning, Ryan thumbed the screen of his phone thoughtfully as his sister chatted animatedly about life back in Georgia. He glanced around the bustling living room. It was Thanksgiving and no one should be alone on a family holiday. 

_ Come over to my place for Thanksgiving.  _

_ Are you gonna give me some stuffing? ;) _

Ryan chuckled and waved his sister away from his phone.

_ No. Haywood family is here and I figured you didn’t want to be alone for Thanksgiving. _

_ Oh.  _

Ryan swallowed his nerves and forced himself to set the phone down, to wait patiently for the next text. His sister’s husband asked him about the cable box and how to get the games on the tv forced Ryan off the couch and away from his phone. By the time he returned, there was a text.

_ I’m heading over. Is your family as creepy as you are? _

His mom praised the kitchen and its appliances, thrilled that he had chosen a house with double ovens. 

“Your grandmother would be happy with your house Ryan. Two ovens makes holiday cooking just that much easier,” she commented, inching open an oven door to glance inside.

“Yeah, well. I don’t use them often so they sit there.” Ryan followed his mother as she wandered through the kitchen, prying open a few cabinets to see what dishes he had. 

“Oh, by the way. I invited a friend over for dinner. He’ll be here soon.”

Ryan didn’t miss the way his mother practically beamed at the word  _ friend _ .

“I’m so happy that you’ve found someone,” she said. She hummed as she set up different pots and pans for cooking, Ryan faintly remembering the tune from his grandmother as she worked her own holiday dinners. Ryan could remember being at his grandmother’s house, in her kitchen, listening to her sing under her breath while she baked cookies and pies.

“Mom, he's a friend and nothing more,” Ryan said, preparing the green beans. 

“Oh, sweetie, it's alright. I remember when Todd was just a friend for Charlotte, those two were so cute together.” She sighed and stared off dreamily. 

“Mom,” he said, in a low warning tone.

“Oh, alright.”

“Thank you.”

The Haywoods worked diligently for a Thanksgiving feast. Ryan’s sister helped prep as many ingredients as possible before working side by side with their mother, gossiping about different celebrities and catching up on shows they watched together. His father put together three different kind of pies, setting them aside to bake.

They were so busy, Ryan barely heard the doorbell ring and before he could stop and get it, his mom hightailed it out of the kitchen, leaving her daughter to finish a dish. Ryan was right at her heels, finding his heart was leaping at the thought of seeing Ray’s face.

“Hello?” Ray said. Ryan stood behind his mother, inches above her and an encouraging smile on his lips.

“Oh, you must be Ryan’s friend. I am so glad you could join us today,” she said, smiling brightly. 

Ryan waited for the bomb to drop. His mother was going to ask some awkward question and try to pry into Ray’s life and set Ray up with someone too. 

To his pleasant surprise, his mother simply ushered Ray into the delicious smelling home.

“Come in, come in, we’re all in the kitchen, finishing things up.” She opened the door wider and Ray walked in, toeing his checkered Vans off at the door, nervously looking at her with scared doe eyes. When he saw Ryan behind her he grinned slightly. Ryan returned his grin. His mother closed the door and started going back to the kitchen, the two boys following behind her.

“Glad you could join us, Ray,” Ryan said, pausing a few steps before the kitchen. He pulled Ray into a quick hug, controlling his want to nose through the fluffy brown hair. 

“Thanks for the invite.” Ray went in for a kiss and Ryan ducked back. His eyebrows shot up at the action.

“Remember The System?” Ryan mumbled quietly, pointedly glancing at the direction of the kitchen. 

“Oh, right,” Ray said. He mustered up a smile and nodded, allowing Ryan to guide them into the kitchen.

His mom called out and asked, “Did you want to help Ryan with the green beans? I don't think there are many left but you can help speed it up.”

“Sure, Mrs. Haywood.”

“Oh, you don't have to call me Mrs. Haywood. Just call me Judy.”

They finished cooking Thanksgiving dinner and sat down to feast in the late afternoon. They had snacked on vegetables and fruit throughout the day to keep them going. Ray sat down next to him at the table.

“So, Ryan sweetie, have you found anyone yet? Your cousins have been talking about this new app, I hear it's called Tindr. Maybe you could find someone that way.” 

Ryan felt Ray tense next to him and subtly wove their fingers together underneath the table, soothingly running his thumb along Ray’s knuckles. Even he felt awkward listening to his mom encouraging him to find someone and settle down.

This was the millionth conversation about that same topic- settling down and marrying someone so that she could have some bouncy baby grandchildren. 

Ryan dramatically groaned as he squeezed Ray’s hand reassuringly before pulling away.

“Mom, he’ll meet someone in time, just like me and Todd. He’ll meet someone when he least expects it,” his sister said, coming to his defense.

Their mother seemed to pout, reluctant to let the topic go but her attention swiveled to Ray. 

“What about you, Ray? Have you met anyone?” she asked, passing a bowl of mashed potatoes in his direction.

Ray tensed again, his hand finding Ryan’s and squeezing painfully, nerves getting the better of him. 

“Judy,” his dad said, voice low. 

“Mom, Todd and I actually have some news to share with everyone,” Charlotte said. She clasped hands with Todd and smiled brightly. “We’re pregnant.”

Judy was quiet for a moment and for a second Ryan almost panicked. But then his mother burst from her seat, tears streaming down her face, and hugged Charlotte. They shared their overwhelming joy and happily chattered about what could be and what will be.

“Congratulations, Charlotte,” Ryan said, “I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks, Todd and I found out last week. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him the news.”

The topic changed to grandchildren. That explained why Charlotte didn't want any of the wine their dad had bought at Spec’s the day before. Ray stayed eerily quiet next to him. Maybe having him as a buffer against his mother wasn't the best idea but it was too late to back out. 

His mom didn't relent on the topic of him finding someone. When Ryan helped her carry the dishes into the kitchen she stopped him before he could go back into the dining room. 

“You know, that Ray fellow is pretty cute. What about him?” she asked, eyes staring at his face for any reaction. After years of working with five adult children, Ryan had mastered the art of a poker face and treated his mother with the same mask the guys got. 

“Mom, Ray and I are just friends. Aside from a few work favors, he’s just another guy I used to see in the office.”

“Okay, well it’s your choice honey but you know that I will love you no matter what,” she said, setting a hand on Ryan’s arm before letting him go back.

They walked back into the room. Ray’s eyes were glassy when he looked at Ryan and Ryan fought the urge to go over and hug him. They had The System and if his mom saw him hugging Ray she would insinuate too  much.

Ryan sat next to Ray. 

The smaller lad leaned over and covered his mouth with his hand as he whispered. 

“Dude, your mom is a  _ little  _ loco.”

“Yeah, be glad you didn't have to grow up with her.”

“All a part of that Haywood charm huh? And by charm I mean creep factor,” he said.

They shared a grin. 

So far so good.

His dad came in with the pies. Ray’s earlier reluctance forgotten in the way of sugary goodness.

His family stayed for five days and during those days there were moments when Ryan desperately wished he could've gone to Ray’s apartment, even if only for a few hours, to play some games together and chat like they normally did. With his family surrounding him, Ryan was restricted. After Thanksgiving dinner though, Ray and he snuck into the guest bedroom and with a passionate desperation they coaxed each other into satisfying orgasms, muffling their sounds with frantic kisses.

Once his parents were gone and the house was his again, Ryan drove to Ray’s apartment and they played video games well into the afternoon and night. Ryan drove back to his place sated and content. Whatever had caused such a frenzy in them the other day had passed. They were back to normal within a day.

Christmas came and suddenly the holidays were in full swing and Ryan found himself looking at knick-knacks on store shelves thinking of Ray and what he might like. If anything he could always buy a videogame but that seemed like something only a friend would buy, not whatever they were, which was a slap to his face because according to The System they were nothing. He shouldn't be browsing the shelves searching for that special gift. Ray was nothing to him, he meant nothing more than a friend. So getting him a video game would be fine. Or even a new controller. Ryan eventually bought a brand new Xbox One controller, the image of an impressively completed Tetris tower on the left grip.

He presented the gift, messily wrapped in striped green and red paper with a silver bow, with a nonchalant smile; he scratched the back of his head as Ray tore at the paper.

“It’s nothing big,” he promised, though his heart was in his throat the entire time. Ryan found himself slightly worried about Ray’s impression on the controller. He loved Tetris, but was the gift to tacky? Did Ray already have one from a fan? 

All the tension eased out of Ryan’s shoulder as Ray smiled when he saw what it was. “Dude, I can always use a new controller,” he said and inspected the design underneath the light. It was a little gesture but to Ray, it left a wonderful buzz from his toes to his fingers. He smiled again and wrapped his arms around Ryan’s chest, looking up at him.

“If I had known you were getting me something-”

“It’s fine, I saw it on the shelf and thought of you.”

“Okay, I just figured with The System, we probably weren't getting anything for each other.”

That probably would've been a better tactic. It would've been along the code of The System, the whole they meant nothing to each other. It caused Ryan’s stomach to drop. It was stupid to buy Ray a present.

“Hey- but thanks. Now I can kick covenant ass with a Tetris controller,” Ray mumbled, burying his face into Ryan’s chest. The gent laughed breathily and patted his back, rubbing along the soft fabric of his Brownman sweater.

“I’ll see you after I get back from Georgia,” Ryan said and Ray gave an acknowledging grunt.

“Yeah, try not to have too much fun with the peaches.”

Ryan snorted. “Yeah, I’ll try not to.”

Georgia was cold, it was boring, and worst of all there was no Ray to share his misery with. At least if he had been there they would've been there together. His heart pained him and he smiled whenever he got a text from Ray.

Eventually Ryan couldn’t take it anymore. Texts only worked so much and he was craving the sound of Ray’s voice. There was no spare time between family activities so Ryan couldn’t catch even a second of Ray’s streams, only catching highlights from the tweets popping on his feed.

Ryan stole away from his family, saying he needed a breath of fresh air in the backyard  _ alone _ . In a way, he hadn’t been lying. Ray would be a relief from his family.

“Hey.”

Ryan’s heart fluttered when he heard Ray’s voice and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Ryan watched it ghost through the chilly air.

“Hey, how are you?” Ryan asked.

“Bored. I need to just buy a console and keep it here, I’ll have to hide it though. What about you?” Ryan could hear Ray’s smile through the speaker and his heart swelled to twice its size in his chest.

Ryan opened his mouth and before he realized he said it, he said, “I miss you.”

The other side of the line went quiet. Ryan’s heart started to pound as he feared he had said the wrong thing.

Noises came over the line and what sounded like a door closing. Finally, Ray spoke up, “I miss you too.”

Ryan broke out into a grin. His heart swelling his chest. He needed to break the moment. “So, what are you wearing?”

“A red shirt and khaki pants,” Ray said, deadpan. “Really? What do you think I’m wearing?”

“What do you want me to say?” Ryan said indignantly, flapping his jacket as if Ray was standing right in front of him. The cold hit him and Ryan quickly zipped himself up, glad Ray couldn’t see his pout.

“I don’t know either.” There was an awkward pause. “Have you played any games?” Ray asked, in a pathetic attempt to change the topic.

Ryan sighed; he pinched the bridge of his nose. There had to be a better way to start this. All day Ray kept slipping into his thoughts- not like sex thoughts all the time but Ryan found himself checking his phone more often, just to see if Ray had texted him. He wasn't about to tell Ray that though. 

“I’ve been thinking about your mouth and hands,” he said. His eyes closed as slipped into the fantasy.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, like how you look when you suck me off.”

“Really?” Ray’s voice took on a breathy quality and Ryan smirked.  _ Got him. _

Ryan hummed as he turned and entered the house again, bypassing his family with a gesture to the phone in his hand. He made a beeline to his room, closing the door and locking it. 

“Yeah? Give me a second,” Ryan asked and he swore he heard a quiet whine as he set his phone down. Ryan stripped out of his outerwear and down to his boxers, laying on his bed. He picked up the phone as his hand slid down his body and dipped inside his boxers. 

“I can't wait to sink inside you, you’re so hot and tight,” he swallowed, imagining it was Ray’s hand wandering down his stomach. His breathing became heavy at the image of his lad with dark brown eyes, pupils already blown with lust.

“I want to fuck you,” Ray said in a rush. “If that’s okay.”

Ryan chuckled lowly. “That’s alright. Can it be after I pin you against the wall and fuck you?” he purred and Ray’s breath hitched audibly, causing Ryan to chuckle.

“Don’t forget the lube.”

“I won’t,” Ryan promised, his own smile apparent in his voice.

Ryan came that night stroking himself, listening to Ray explain in graphic detail his desires for the next time he saw Ryan. Like how he desperately wanted Ryan’s fingers up his ass, teasing him, pressing against him, all in diligent and torturous preparation before he slid in and started pounding into him. Ryan’s voice was rough as he described how he wished Ray was with him so that he could be thrusting inside of him or- he could be on his knees, sliding his mouth up and down Ray’s cock. 

The strange thing was that that was only the second night of their Christmas vacation and it was the first time they called each other- they couldn't go a week without seeing each other it seemed like. Ryan told himself not to look too hard into the fact that he was missing Ray and they had been apart for only a few days. It meant nothing, all of it meant nothing. 

“Don’t think I don’t see that look in your eyes, young man,” his mom said on the third night when they were drinking hot cocoa. She splashed a liberal dash of peppermint schnapps in her cup. Ryan waved off her offer for schnapps in his mug. “It’s that same look in your eye when you started thinking about Susan Downtree.”

“Mom-” he started, but this time she wouldn't be deterred.

“You know that’ll be happy for you no matter what, and I’ll always love you. But if you don’t speak with this person about how you feel then you’ll regret it.”

“Mom-” he spoke more sternly this time, catching her eyes, the same blue as his. “It’s nothing. Really- it's nothing.” Because The System said it was nothing. Because if he started thinking it was something then he wouldn't stop. Because... there maybe something there. Something that he wouldn’t acknowledge because then it would be real. 

“Well, alright,” she said. She blew on her hot cocoa. A pensive look crossed her face. “How is that Ray fellow doing? I haven't heard you talk about him since the first day.”

Ryan’s shoulders dropped and his mood deflated. He sipped at the cocoa tentatively; maybe if he stayed quiet long enough his mom would change the subject.

“Is he spending Christmas with his family? He’s welcome here,” she said, taking a sip and smiling.

Ryan sighed. “He’s visiting his family in New York for Christmas.” He clasped the mug in both hands, the heat warming his fingers. Silently Ryan toyed with the idea of inviting Ray to the Haywood residence for a Christmas. Bringing him in to see the whole family and showering him with gifts with the excuse of it being a Haywood Christmas.

It was frustratingly addicting to do. As Ryan finished the last of his mug, his mind almost convinced him Ray was waiting for him somewhere in the house, hiding a gift behind his back and conveniently underneath a mistletoe. Ryan’s mother took the mug away and Ryan nearly left his seat to search for his lad.

The only thing that knocked him out of the stupor were the giggles of children as they ran through the kitchen, soaked and covered in towels as they chatted about the war. The cousins had had a raucous snowball fight earlier and Ryan had gotten caught in the middle of it, his fingers soaked and freezing after a winner was declared. Charlotte and Todd had gone in early to take a shower and change into warmer clothes. He was staying away from their room and the shared bathroom, just in case.

“Oh, that’s good. He’s such a nice young man,” she said.

Ryan’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out, thankful for the reprieve. It was a text from Naughty Elf, Ray’s nickname for Christmas; Ray had changed it when Ryan had dropped him off at the airport and told Ryan not to look, that he would send him a text. He got a good chuckle at the name. 

_ I think I’m going through withdraw _

Ryan rolled his eyes. He sipped at the cocoa and typed a message.  _ What are your symptoms? _

It wasn’t five minutes before he got a response. _ Itchy trigger finger, seeing Tetris blocks, mom took away the DS D: _

Ryan’s mom clicked her tongue and when he glanced at her she looked away pointedly.  _ Phone games? _

_ There’s only so many times that I can check on my vault and Candy Crush stopped being cool. All the dipshits in there are still alive and no one can top my high score. _

_ Porn? :P _

It took several minutes before another message came through and when it did it had Ryan blushing furiously.  _ Are you alone? _

“I’m going to go upstairs,” Ryan said as smoothly as he could, leaving his jacket on the chair. He left the room without a second glance, his thumbs flying across the screen. 

_ I will be in a minute. _

He passed his sister and brother-in-law in the living room watching Frosty the Snowman with their dad. He reached his room, already growing hard at the thought of Ray. He set the mug on the nightstand and laid down on the bed; he shucked off his shoes and slid his pants down his thighs.

_ I’m alone now. _

A call from Ray came through after a moment.

“Are you already hard?” Ray said.

“Well, hello to you too.” Ryan chuckled. “But to answer your question, yes, I am.”

“How many more days?”

Ray had left on Monday the 21st and Ryan had driven him to the airport. Ryan left the next day for Georgia. It was Wednesday night, and tomorrow was Thursday which was Christmas Eve. Ryan was leaving Monday night, as long as the weather held. 

“I’ll see you Monday, four more days.”

“Yeah, four days of torture.” Ray snorted. 

“Well, until then, we’re a phone call away.”

“It’s not the same,” Ray said, groaning. “Do you know how long it's been since we’ve gone a day without? I’m starving here.”

“Thanksgiving, only a month, and we made up for it,” Ryan said, vividly remembering coming home from work Monday and being physically pulled to the couch as soon as he stepped through the door. It was the faster he had ever come inside of Ray but damned if it hadn't felt like one of the best. It wasn't an hour later that Ryan was sucking Ray and he was screaming his name as he came.

“Better make up for it on Monday.” Ray growled. His breath was coming heavy now.

“Oh, I will. I’ll fuck you, draped over the arm over the couch, buried inside of you.” Ryan’s hand dipped under his boxers and he palmed himself, groaning at the touch.

“You better.”

“I could force you to wear the ring, keep you from cumming until after I finished and then I turn you around and go down on my knees to suck you off.” 

The ring was a cock ring that the lads had gotten him after they learned about his “girlfriend.” They said he would need something to help him in his old age and Ryan scoffed at the idea at the time. Like he would have stamina issues, he wasn’t  _ that _ old. 

Ray, feeling adventurous one night, had tried the ring on; when they finally slipped the ring off he came harder than he ever had before, dick spasming as he came. Since then it's been used several times, all but once on Ray. Ryan had given it a shot. It was a painful torture being so close but cut off from the sweet bliss.

“Oh, God, Rye, don’t tease.”

Ryan’s hand stroked faster as he spoke, thinking of what he would do to Ray on Friday when they had the whole day to themselves. “You know we’ll have the day- the weekend to ourselves right?”

“Mmm, not Saturday night, Lads Night,” Ray said.

“Until then, we could just stay in bed. I could slide my tongue inside of you.”

“Rye,” Ray mewled and Ryan knew Ray was done for.

“We could sixty-nine it,” Ryan said, knowing full well the torture that he was delivering.

“Don’t stop.” Ray’s voice was breathy and rough; he sounded close to coming. 

Ryan doubled his efforts, speaking in low tones about all the little things he couldn't wait to do. He listened to Ray cum, his voice keening low. Ryan followed soon after, hand stroking hard and fast.

“Monday can’t get here soon enough,” Ray said.

Ryan huffed out a laugh. “I agree. You know, my mom said you were welcome to join us for Christmas.” Ryan bit his lower lip, unable to confess he had daydreamed about it as well.

“Don’t tempt me.”

“I have an Xbox.”

“Ryan,” Ray said, whining.

“Let me guess- you hate me?”

“Oh, so much right now.”

Ryan grinned. They talked about their day. Ryan told Ray about the couple of inches of snow on the ground and how they had had a snowball fight that day. He didn't say anything about the storm that the meteorologist was predicting would come in on Sunday. He didn't want to think about not getting home on Monday.

Christmas Eve was spent with family, with just one text to and from Ray as they wished each other a merry Christmas. Ryan’s family piled into the car to go to Mass. They went back home and all drank some non-alcoholic hot chocolate, though he suspected his mother had slipped some schnapps into her mug if the ruddy glow of her cheeks was anything to go by. 

Christmas morning was a festive affair. Even though they were grown up his parents still insisted on writing ‘Santa’ on some of the boxes and acting like Santa Claus had come to the house. They exclaimed over the presents. His mother got him a Yeti mug, one designed to keep cans insulated.

During the little downtime that he had, Ryan took the chance to call Ray and wish him a Merry Christmas but the line rang and rang before going to voicemail. Ryan shrugged and let it go.

The family piled into the car and headed off to grandma’s house where the rest of the family would go to for Christmas dinner. Mom had several platters in the trunk of the car.

Ryan sent Ray a quick Merry Christmas text before he turned his phone to silent. His grandmother had a thing against cell phones at the dinner table and one of his numerous uncles would call someone out if they had their cell phone out. Uncle Flippy, real name Tim, liked taking the cell phone and reading or describing whatever the person had been doing, and if it was a game he would play as bad as he could just to screw them over. If he had the phone long enough then he would change the background. So it was generally recommended to not have a cell phone out around him. 

Spending Christmas with his family was fun but he found his thoughts drifting to Ray whenever there was a spare moment, wondering how the lad was doing and how his Christmas was going. The cousins — all 15 of them including Todd and Evelyn, who was married to Daryl — sat at the “children’s” table which was amusing because the youngest at the table was 11 years old and the oldest, Charlotte, was expecting. They had a great time at it though, teasing each other and joking. It was almost like being with the guys, except less cursing. This was Grandma’s house and cursing got your tongue washed out with soap. He felt his phone vibrate but Uncle Flippy was just a room over. His three sons, however, were in the same room and they had learned their sense of humor from their father. 

They ate until they were full, feasting on a delicious ham. Grandma brought out her special Christmas cookies. They pulled out board games and played until the clock chimed nine and one by one the families made their farewells, hugging each other and wishing each other a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Ryan had a Merry Christmas text on his phone from Ray. When he called him he never picked up. Ryan shrugged and went to bed. 

The next day Ryan’s phone chimed around mid morning and he frowned at the text, puzzling over it. 

_ Please don’t be mad. _

 


	5. System Corruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things workout great but then, things start to get bad and they go from bad to worse

Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door.

“Oh, I wonder who that could be,” his mother said, glancing to Ryan and grinning widely. Her eyes sparkled with glee.

The door opened and Ryan, listening closely, heard a chipper “hello” from his mother before she called him to the door. She smiled at him as he passed.

Standing in the door, with a red and gold Christmas bow pressed to his forehead, was Ray. Ryan couldn't help the small grin that came to his face.

“Merry Christmas?” Ray said.

Ryan leaned against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. “I thought you said you didn't get me a present.”

“Well,” Ray said, smirking, “this isn't all of your present.”

“No?”

“Nope, the rest is home in Austin,” Ray said, eyebrows waggling exaggeratedly. “So are you going to invite me in or am I staying outside in the cold?” Ray asked.

“Sure,” Ryan chuckled.

“Ryan, I hope you don’t mind if he rooms with you dear. We’re remodeling the guest room and he simply can’t stay in there,” his mom said.

His mother was standing in the doorway to the living room and she grinned at them as they passed. Ryan rolled his eyes at her. This had to be all her fault.

“Hey, Ray,” his sister said, waving to him.

Ray waved back.

Ryan showed Ray to his room. He closed the door behind the lad. As one they turned to each other. Neither knew who moved first but they made it to the bed, Ray lying on top of Ryan. Their hands caressed familiar skin. Ryan leaned forward and nipped at the spot near Ray’s ear and his hips jerked at the touch.

“We need to go downstairs or they’ll know what’s going on,” Ryan said. His hands grabbed at Ray’s hips and stilled him.

Ray whined. “Oh fuck- come on. It’s been days.” He rocked his hips.

Ryan groaned at the movement. “Tonight, we can do it tonight. It’s just a few hours away.”

“You know you’re screwing yourself on this too?” Ray asked. He rocked on top of Ryan again.

“Yeah, but tonight I’ll be screwing you,” Ryan cheekily replied. He palmed Ray’s erection through his pants.

“Fuck.” He thrusted into the hand. “We’re doing a great job getting off the bed. We’ve gotten far.”

“Fine. Okay, I’ll stop.” Ryan gave him one last squeeze; he let go of Ray’s hips, hands dragging down his legs and cupping his ass. “Come here,” he said.

Ray braced himself above him and they kissed slowly, tongues sliding into each other’s mouth, tasting for the first time in days.

They kissed leisurely until they could leave the room without worrying about walking around half hard. They met up with Charlotte and Todd in the living room. They were playing Mario Kart on the Wii. The parents had left for the grocery store to pick up a few things.

Ray rejoiced at the sight of the game console, even if it wasn’t a shooter he was thrilled.

“Ryan, you’ve made me the happiest man around,” he said with a grin; his eyes were locked on the Wii.

Ryan chuckled at his reaction. “Ray, do we need to leave you alone for a minute?”

“No, not with the Wii, but you said you have an Xbox.”

Ryan nodded.

“Yeah, I’m going to need an hour with that by myself.”

“Just wipe the controller down after you use it.”

“Y’all wanna play too?” Todd asked, glancing up briefly from the game.

“Sure,” Ryan said.

They took a seat on the couch and waited for the race to end. Charlotte won with a large lead.

They started a new session and Ray changed it to a higher difficulty, scoffing when Charlotte suggested that they choose the easier option.

They started the first race when Charlotte spoke up. “So Ray, what brings you to Atlanta?”

Ray glanced at the kitchen door before speaking in a low tone, “your mother is a persuasive woman.”

Ryan was going to have to have a talk with her sometime about not interfering in his life. Because when he said Ray and he meant nothing to each other that was the truth. Even though she didn't see it that way didn't mean that she got to poke her nose where it didn't belong. This wasn't high school. He was a grown adult. He could make his own decisions.

“How did you get the address?’ Ryan asked. That part had bugged him.

“Again- your mom.”

Now, he really needed to have that talk with her.

“I feel like there’s a joke in there somewhere,” Todd said.

“Your mom’s in there somewhere,” Ray said. He rolled into first place, racing passed a Peach, played by Charlotte. She cursed under her breath.

Ray won all three races; eventually, Charlotte stopped fighting him for first and went for second. Their mother came in at one point during the second race but no one noticed. She cheered them on, even though she had only a vague idea of who was playing who.

For lunch, they ate some of the leftovers from Christmas dinner. They made ham sandwiches and picked out their favorite side dishes to go along with them. Ryan shared the garlic mashed potatoes with Ray. Their father joined them during lunch, putting the groceries in the fridge.

Ryan and Ray excused themselves to go upstairs and play on the Xbox. Ryan apologized that it wasn't the Xbox One but Ray still faked tearing up when he saw the console, dropping to his knees in joy.

“Please tell me you have a shooter,” Ray said, eyeing Ryan skeptically.

Ryan grinned and held up a copy of Halo 3.

Ray bounced up and hugged him. “You’re amazing, babe.”

Playing Halo together was exactly what they needed. They went through the campaign and when they started sniping at each other from across the map they switched to multiplayer and started killing each other there. The door to the media room opened and closed at some point but Ryan was so intent on getting a headshot on Ray at the moment that he didn't look to see who had come in. He turned around after a bit and saw a can of Diet Coke and a Coke. He handed the Coke to Ray and took the Diet Coke for himself. They played until Ryan got a text saying it was dinner time.

His father had gone to the store and picked up the fixings for some homemade chili. They sat around the table and dug in.

Ryan’s mother looked to Ray and Ryan was ready to try and deflect whatever question she threw Ray’s way. “So Ray, how was New York? Did you get any snow?”

Ryan was taken aback at the seemingly normal question. His mother had that twinkle in her eye that said she was up to no good but that was a normal question.

“New York was fun, spent time with my mother. We got some snow, not much, though.”

“Well, it's good to have you here, you’re welcome to join us for any holidays. A friend of Ryan’s is always welcome,” she said. There had to be a hidden meaning there, something, she was nice but something was up.

“Thanks,” Ray said.

Ryan was hesitant to do anything with Ray while they were at the house. They kept their hands to themselves during the day but at night Ryan dragged Ray and pressed against him, suddenly relishing holding Ray’s body during the night, appreciating it all the more once again. Just feeling the heat of his body, Ryan’s hands sliding down Ray’s body and listening to his breath hitch at his touch, and trying to stay quiet. Ryan pressed his lips against the back of Ray’s neck as Ray’s eyes closed and his hips jerked as he came in Ryan’s hand, teeth biting his bottom to stay quiet. And when Ray’s body twisted in his arms to return the favor, Ryan shook his head.

“You sure, babe?” Ray asked, yawning from exhaustion.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Ryan said.

In a short time, Ray was asleep, his breath going in and out slow and steady. His body relaxed and his hand shifted on the pillow and spread against Ryan’s chest. He smiled affectionately at the unconscious touch. His fingers trailed down Ray’s shoulder to his arm. For some reason he just couldn’t fall asleep. It wasn’t Ray. Because being back in bed with the lad had made it easier to fall asleep the other night but tonight he just wanted to take him in.

“I missed you, babe,” Ryan said, “so much.” He kissed Ray’s forehead and laid on his back on the soft bed.

Ryan woke up the next morning to Ray’s hand holding his length and his head on Ryan’s thigh. Brown eyes gazed lazily up at him and he smirked, fingers stroking firmly up Ryan’s length. His mouth wrapped around the tip and Ryan leaned his head back and groaned.

They never did get to truly despoil his childhood room. They couldn’t find the lube and Ryan was hesitant to try and substitute anything. Ray complained about it at first but Ryan used spit and managed to slide a finger inside of him and slid his mouth down Ray’s cock, taking him in deep, and Ray came with his fingers scratching Ryan’s scalp, keening, eyes clenched shut and back arching off the bed. He ran a hand through Ryan’s hair and scratched at his head, begging him to take him. Ryan promised to do so as soon as they got back to his house in Austin.

They had a night flight back to Austin and when they arrived they ran for the bedroom, hastily discarding clothes and throwing them to the wayside in a rush to get to bare skin. Ryan pounced Ray as soon as he could and his fingers were soon inside of the small lad, stretching him. Ryan came buried inside of Ray, his head tucked at the crook of Ray’s neck, nipping at the skin there before pressing a gentle kiss to the reddened skin. They slept curled around each other and woke up lazily, with the sun coming in through the windows.

New Year’s Eve the two spent together. Somehow Geoff had managed to convince Ryan that going out on New Year’s Eve was a good idea. Michael and Lindsay had brought Ray along with them. So it was the two of them, with Geoff, Griffon, Gavin, Meg, Lindsay, and Michael, going to a bar that night, three couples and one- not couple. They met at Geoff’s house and a Geoff, Griffon, Ray, and Ryan piled into Ryan’s car and the rest drove over in Lindsay’s.

Sixth Street was the party destination of Austin and it was packed to the gills that night. Everyone and their dog was there. Ryan kept an eye out on Ray as they walked through the bustling and drunk crowd. Whenever the shorter lad would lag behind the group, or someone in the crowd would cut him off from the rest, Ryan stopped and waited, or even took Ray’s hand and pulled him along sometimes. When he did that, Ryan would squeeze Ray’s hand before letting go, the touch lingering just a little longer than what would be normal. The touch just felt good- it felt right. The smile on his face, it meant nothing. But why was nothing so scary.

The group found a spot at a bar that Geoff liked and Griffon recognized the band that was playing. The bartender when he saw Geoff yelled his name and cheered. He gave them the first round on the house, only giving Ray and Ryan the side eye when they ordered non-alcoholic drinks when the round was free.

They went up to the second floor of the place; they could still hear the music even up there. They found a spot near the windows and stood there chatting. Every once in a while someone would break off to get another round or to use the restroom.

As midnight approached, the bar started passing out champagne for everyone, Ryan and Ray declined theirs. The TVs were switched over to show New York and the ball drop. As the minute mark came by the couples stood together, Michael pressed a kiss to Lindsay’s forehead, Gavin wrapped his arms around Meg’s waist, and Geoff and Griffon locked elbows, glasses at the ready.

The music stopped.

“Everybody get ready!” Someone shouted over the speakers.

A hush fell over the crowd as they waited for their cue.

“Ten!”

Ray turned to face Ryan.

“Nine!”

He took a step forward.

“Eight!”

He reached out and let the back of his fingers trail down Ryan’s arm.

“Seven!”

“Six!”

His fingers unfurled and brushed against Ryan’s wrist.

“Five!”

“Four!”

Ray was looking up at him curiously.

“Three!”

His fingers slid between Ryan’s.

“Two!”

He stood on his tiptoes. Ryan cast a fearful glance at their friends.

“One!”

Ryan took a step back. His hand slipped from Ray’s.

“Happy New Year!”

The crowd cheered. The couples shared a kiss.

Ray’s face fell and his hands clenched into fists at his side. Ryan pointedly nodded his head at their friends. Ray nodded back and swallowed and gave a small smile, understanding what Ryan was saying, even as he didn’t say anything. Because they had The System, and it was what kept everything going. .

“Happy New Year, Ray!” Michael said. He spun him around and pulled him into a tight bear hug, squeezing the life out of him.

“Happy New Year, Team Lads!” Gavin shouted. His face was red from the alcohol. He latched to the other side of Ray.

“Happy New Year, Ryan,” Meg said. She patted him on the back and gave him a quick hug.

“Okay, guys, let go of Ray, I think he’s turning blue,” Geoff said.

The two drunk lads let the other go.

“Happy New Years, guys,” he said to them. Ryan could see the sadness in Ray’s eyes but he hid it well behind a placating smile.

Ryan couldn't take his eyes off Ray for the next thirty minutes as he watched him talk with the others, that damned glimmer of sadness in his eyes hadn't disappeared. He frowned. Maybe he could make Ray happy somehow.

When Lindsay ran to get the others another round of drinks, Ryan put a hand on Ray’s shoulder and dipped his mouth down to Ray’s ear and whispered, “Do you wanna go home? I want to give you a New Year's kiss.” He pressed his lips lightly against the shell of his ear, under the guise of whispering to him. The others were either too distracted to notice or to drunk to really notice even if they were looking that way.

Ray shuddered under his hand. He nodded.

Ryan waited until Lindsay came back before he told everyone that he and Ray were leaving. They gave them hugs and Ryan told everyone that he would see them at work on Monday morning.

Once they had left their friends behind at the bar and they were on the way to the car, Ryan slowed down and let his fingers slide together with Ray’s. He squeezed once and smiled down at him.

“Happy New Year,” Ryan said, tilting his head down and giving Ray a quick peck on the lips. They were on a side street leading to a parking garage. No one was around as they were still at the bars, celebrating the new year.

Ray shook his head, “Happy New Year to you too, babe.”

They went home and Ryan curled behind Ray in the bed. He clutched one of Ray’s hands in his as they fell asleep.

Over the past few days and nights he had come to one conclusion, he adored the lad- no matter what The System said. He wouldn’t change what they had.

It was sweet coming home to Ray every day. Ryan would usually come home to him streaming. He would stand in the door way and just be content to watch Ray play. Sometimes Ray would take a short break, telling his chat that he was going to grab another drink or something, and the two of them would share a brief kiss, sometimes chaste or sometimes passionate, with Ray’s legs wrapped around Ryan’s waist, their pants unbuttoned and unzipped, shoved out of the way so that they could reach each other. Ryan still took the time to tease Ray about blowing him under his desk.

They had a routine. They were like- a genuine couple. But if anyone asked Ryan would tell them with a flippant comment about how he was still single and he would give a woeful sigh and move on from the topic. But he would always think about Ray and wistfully picture them living together as a couple before reminding himself that they had the system and that Ray agreed and had told him that this- whatever they were- didn’t mean anything. That the pain he felt in his chest when he thought about that- well that meant nothing too.

Sometimes Ryan would catch himself staring at Ray, thinking about what things would be like if he had never suggested anything like the System, if he had let what they had grow. Would they be something more? Would they actually be together? Would any of this mean anything?

Those depressing what ifs didn’t stop Ryan from looking at Ray and smiling at him affectionately and cooking dinner for him on the nights he streamed. The System kept him silent, never speaking up about how he felt. How he wanted, actually wanted, to give Ray a kiss on the cheek during the streams.

Some days Michael would pick Ray up and on those days Ray would take the bus back to his apartment for Michael to pick him up. Ray at one point suggested having Michael pick him up from the house but Ryan nixed that idea in the bud. He even offered to drop Ray off at his apartment for him. No one at work knew. No one knew what they were. Ryan didn’t know what they were. They were just together but not together. Just The System. He had to follow that. Maybe he could lie and no one could realize that they were together. God forbid Michael figure out that they were together. Ray left the house in a foul mood but when Ryan picked him up at the apartment later that night he was good, laughing and smiling, pulling Ryan into a shameless kiss.

It was Valentine’s Day. One of the worst days of the year to be single. At least he still had Ray. He slid a hand down and wrapped it around Ray, who stirred at the touch. Ryan dipped his head and pressed light kisses along Ray’s collarbone, telling himself that it wasn't sentiment that made him keep the touches feather light. Ray’s hips started to weakly thrust into Ryan’s hand.

“Any special reason for the hand job wake up?” Ray asked after he lethargically came; he stared bleary-eyed at Ryan.

Ryan hummed, “no reason,” he said, concealing the fact that it was Valentine’s Day.

“Not complaining,” Ray said. He rolled into Ryan’s side, face resting against Ryan’s chest. “Back to sleep though, it’s Sunday and you need your beauty rest, babe.”

“Oh, I need my beauty rest? What about you?”

Ray snorted. “There’s no hope for me.” He turned away from him. “It’s why you like to fuck me from behind.”

Ryan chuckled and pressed a series of kisses down his neck. It kept him from saying the words that had been catching him unawares more often than not lately. Words that would spell doom for him and tear Ray out of his arms. With The System in place Ryan could never tell Ray that he was beginning to love him. He would never share that. He wanted this- whatever they had to last. As long as he stayed quiet, as long as he didn’t say anything, then they were fine.

They snuggled together in bed. When they woke up they decided not to change into clothes and to just take a day to relax together. They put in a few old vintage games and played through those. Lounging on the couch in pajama pants, pressed against each other for heat with a blanket tossed over them. Ryan had a hand wrapped around Ray’s waist, his head rested on Ray’s shoulder, and he watched him play.

There was nothing sensual or arousing about that day on the couch. It was just the two of them relaxing together and letting the day go by them, wasting it away. And when the sun started to set they turned it to Game of Thrones, getting ready for the new season. Ryan kept pressing soft kisses to various parts of Ray’s body. Whenever he did three kisses in quick succession somewhere, he was telling Ray that he loved him. Each press of his lips was a single word and Ryan put everything that he felt in those kisses.

Ray would tilt his head to the side, letting Ryan rain little kisses along his neck. The bright smile on his face was everything that Ryan hoped it would be, lovely and full.

“Not that I’m complaining, but any reason for all the kisses today?” Ray asked, fingers running through Ryan’s hair as he laid underneath the larger man, letting him trail kisses down his chest.

Ryan paused in the air. His thoughts raced as he came up with what to say.

Ray started to laugh. “Geez, man, it’s okay.”

Ray ran his hands through Ryan’s hair, and pulled him towards him, tugging him into a slow, deep kiss.

When they took a chance to breathe, Ray looked up into Ryan’s blue eyes and smiled, “totally, all the homo, am I right?” He gave him a tentative smile.

Ryan let out a quiet chuckle, count on Ray to kill any awkward silence. Or silence in general.

Somehow that day- it was one of the best days of his life and he did absolutely nothing that day. They did nothing that day. They were just together that whole day. Somehow, in their own way, they managed to celebrate Valentine’s day. They didn’t exchange cards or chocolates, although the next day Ray did hit up one of the grocery stores and raid their valentine chocolates, giving Ryan several heart shaped boxes the next day. Later they would feed them to each other, laughing out loud as they struggled and ended up smearing chocolate over each other’s faces.

In March, they went to Geoff’s place for a crawfish boil. Most of Rooster Teeth was there. Jack was helping Geoff man the crawfish. Gavin was running around like an idiot, he was going to either trip and fall into the pool or be pushed in. Ryan wasn’t sure which would happen first. Ryan’s eyes followed Ray as he walked around, talking with different people. He hid his grin behind a can of Diet Coke. Ray was laughing uproariously, hands clutching his gut, at what Michael said. Gavin jumped up onto Michael’s back; his legs wrapped around his waist.

“My boi!” he shouted.

“Gavin!”

Ray was laughing harder, wiping at his eyes.

Ryan couldn’t help but grin at them. Ray just looked so happy; Ryan wanted so badly to kiss him in that moment. He wished he could pull Ray into his arms and hold him close. It was bad. He had fallen hard. The System hadn’t stopped it. The best he could do now was keep it under wraps.

“Hey, Ryan,” Geoff said, smacking him on his shoulder and startling him out of his thoughts.

 “So, how’s the girlfriend?”

Ryan sighed. They still hadn’t dropped it even though the texting had subsided. In the office, they were always eager to check his phone when he got a text. He could see the disappointment on their faces when the last text he got from a “Haywood you” (Ray’s most recent name in his phone) was about picking up some monsters on the way home.

“Gavin, don’t make Michael spill the good liquor or you’re buying the next bottle- idiot.”

“Yeah, but you love him.”

Geoff snorted. “Like a rock loves a limpet.”

Griffon called out to him and Geoff had to go man the crawfish pot again.

It was getting dark when Ryan sent a text to Ray about leaving. He could feel himself fading and he was looking forward to being in his bed, curled around Ray. In a minute there was a response, _sure_.

Ryan went in search of the host and hostess and gave their goodbyes, Ray trailing behind him. They went back to Ryan’s place and settled into bed together.

They were laying in bed, already asleep, when Ray’s phone started to buzz. The only reason Ryan knew it wasn't his was because it was the phone on the nightstand on the other side of the bed- so not his phone.

“Ray,” he whined. He yawned.

“Hmm?”

“Your phone.”

“Oh-” Ray stretched his arm and grabbed the phone and laid back against Ryan’s chest.

“Hello?” He said.

“Hey, Rayman, where ya at? I’m outside your apartment?” Michael said. Ryan could clearly hear him. Ray sucked in a breath. His eyes darted to Ryan's.

“Huh, why are you there?” He said, sitting up.

“Cuz you left you DS at Geoff’s place, figured you’d want it back,” Michael said.

“Thanks, I’m actually-”

Ray stopped talking and glanced to Ryan. Ryan waited with baited breath, not knowing whether Ray would break The System and tell Michael where he was, tell him that he was with Ryan, tell him that they were together, but Ray took a breath and closed his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh, apparently decision made.

“Hey man, I’m busy right now. I’m with a friend.”

“You have friends?” Michael asked jokingly.

Ray gave a soft huff. “Freaky, I know. How about I get it from you tomorrow?”

“Yeah sure, that works. I’ll see you then.”

“Thanks, man.”

Ray hung up the phone. He leveled a glare at Ryan.

Ryan moved to kiss Ray on the forehead but the smaller lad back up and twisted away from him, out of his embrace. Ryan’s brows furrowed together. “Everything okay, Ray?”

“I just fucking lied to Michael,” he said. He sat up on the bed, facing away from Ryan. His shoulders hunched forward.

Ryan reached out for him.

“Ryan, I just fucking lied to my best friend- not a fan. My best friend.” He turned around and glared; brown eyes narrowed in anger. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Ryan stayed silent, letting Ray’s anger roll over him.

From the beginning, he hadn’t wanted anyone to know about this. This thing, whatever it was, was their own. No one knew about this but them. It was for them.

“I can’t- I can’t do this. I need to go play a game,” Ray said. He shook his head. He grabbed his shorts and boxers from the floor and stepped into them and left without a backward glance.

Ryan rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.

Would it really be that bad if they said anything? Or was Ray upset that he was with Ryan? He knew that he had to talk with Ray to fully understand what was going on. The thought of Ray being upset because of them being together was unsettling. No, he’d rather not broach that topic.

Ryan woke up and upon not feeling Ray curled around him like a limpet, stretched an arm out and started feeling around for him. The bed was cold on the other side. Ryan frowned. He lifted his head and stared in puzzlement at the empty side of the bed. On the nightstand on the other side of the bed, Ray’s phone lit up with a notification.

Ryan went to the bathroom and took a piss before walking out of the bedroom. He grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and rubbed at his eyes.

“Ray?” he called out. The light was dim in the front rooms; it was barely 7 in the morning. The TV was off. But there was a monster on the coffee table.

“Ray?” Ryan called out, soft and low.

He looked over the couch.

Ray was laying on it, stretched out, his glasses askew on his face, and fluffy achievement hunter blanket covered one of his legs. The controller was on the floor in front of him. His mouth was open as he breathed.

“Ray,” Ryan said. He sighed. The lad was going to complain about his neck being sore; Ryan shook his head. He snuck his arms under Ray’s shoulders and knees and cradled him to his chest. Ray’s head rolled to the side and his breath puffed against him. Ryan pressed a kiss to his head. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

Ryan carried Ray to the bedroom. Ray was lightweight, made for easy carrying; no matter how indignant Ray became when Ryan pointed that out, Ryan always took a bit of pleasure from carrying him. Besides, Ray always moaned when he latched his legs around Ryan’s waist and the gent picked him up and carried him to the bedroom.

Ryan laid his prone body on the bed. Ray’s eyes fluttered open and Ryan smiled, fingers caressing Ray’s cheek.

“Go back to sleep,” he said. He pulled Ray’s glasses off and set them on the nightstand next to Ray’s cell phone.

Ray mumbled unintelligibly.

Ryan got into bed again and as soon as he did, Ray curled up against him. His lips pressed against Ryan’s neck, nothing sexual, but Ryan could feel Ray breathe. He wrapped his arms around the small lad, and tucked his face into Ray’s hair, ruffling it as he breathed in and out.

“I love you, Ray,” Ryan said, feeling it was safe to say since Ray was solidly asleep in his arms. He could never say that when Ray was awake.

Ray’s lips fluttered against Ryan’s chest and for a moment he panicked, thinking that he had had him but he shifted in his arms, like he so often did, waking Ryan up randomly during the night when Ray would move against him, sometimes accidentally kicking him. Once it was evident that Ray was in fact, dead asleep to the world, Ryan adjusted his hold to something more bearable for sleeping and let himself go. He’d wake up in a few hours, this time with Ray in his arms.

The months flew by. The number of texts gradually decreased. Instead of sending each other messages about sex and fucking they were about mundane things like what they were going to have for dinner and Ray's continual insistence that they get a pet.

It was actually kind of cute. Ryan smiled happily when he saw the texts, thinking about Ray and how glad he was that they were together, feeling his heart flutter when he saw him.

The guys stopped snatching his phone once the texts were unexciting and dull. Jack would glance over sometimes but he snorted when he saw a text asking Ryan to pick up some milk and a frozen pizza and wondering if he felt like watching a movie.

“Out of the honeymoon period?” Jack asked, brow raised and giving him a quick grin.

Ryan rolled his eyes.

The honeymoon phase was the sex stage of a relationship, which they weren't in, and they'd been out of that for a month now. Not to say that they didn't fuck, just not as frequently. Ryan could still make Ray scream which gave him a burst of masculine pride to know that he gave his partner so much pleasure.

Instead of coming home and kissing each other senseless, Ryan was more likely to go home and turn on the TV and cook some dinner for the two of them. And when Ray was done streaming he would join Ryan on the couch to play a game or watch a show. He’d lay his head on Ryan’s shoulder. Those precious moments cuddling on the couch, their bodies tucked together close, were some of the best in Ryan's opinion.

They didn’t always fall asleep together in bed anymore. It pained Ryan a little at night when he would go to sleep and Ray wasn’t beside him because he wanted to play a game. But Ryan just ignored the small pain in his heart. He wasn’t supposed to feel like that anyway. He wasn’t supposed to have fallen in love. This thing between them didn’t mean anything- no matter how much he wished it did.

So when Ray finally came to bed and tried his damnedest not to wake him but inevitably did, he really wasn’t sneaky, Ryan would pull him close and kiss him once on the forehead and then on the lips, letting all of his feelings out.

 


End file.
